McCain replacement Jon Kyl sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence
Sep 5, 2018, 7:43 AM | Updated: 12:42 pm
Vice President Mike Pence, right, and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., second from left, pose for a photograph with Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., left, and Kyl's grandson Christopher Gavin, center right, after a ceremonial swearing-in at the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
PHOENIX — Republican Senate appointee Jon Kyl of Arizona was sworn in Wednesday by Vice President Mike Pence.
Kyl, a former senator, was tapped by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to replace the late Sen. John McCain. Ducey named Kyl on Tuesday.
The ceremony for the 76-year-old Kyl took place at the U.S. Capitol at 9:45 a.m. Arizona time.
Kyl was sworn in on the Senate floor with U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) by his side.
Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl was just sworn in to fill John McCain’s vacant seat at the U.S. Capitol #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/g9aGpmmtq5
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) September 5, 2018
In a tweet, Ducey again thanked Kyl for his “selfless service, and for putting Arizona and America first.”
The lobbyist retired from the Senate in 2013, after 26 years in public service. He and McCain worked side by side for years.
Kyl has said he would stay in the seat until January but Ducey hoped he would reconsider.
“Hopefully he stays for two years,” Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos a few hours after the appointment.
If Kyl holds to his plan, Ducey will have to designate another Republican, by law, to keep the seat until 2020.
RELATED STORIES
That’s also the year voters will decide in a special election who fills the remainder of McCain’s seat through 2022. Then the seat will be up again for a full six-year term.
Kyl was heading back to Washington, D.C., as confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh began. Kyl was serving as chief sherpa for Kavanaugh, guiding him through the process.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
