Jon Kyl, one of the GOP's most influential Senate figures of his generation, has disclosed that he's living with dementia and is stepping back from public life. The 83-year-old former Arizona lawmaker, who spent nearly three decades in Congress, revealed the diagnosis in a statement released Tuesday by his office, per the New York Times. "The time has come for me to withdraw from public life. I have been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia," Kyl wrote, while expressing thanks for the length and scope of his political career.
Kyl first took a House seat in 1987 and moved to the Senate in 1995, eventually rising into party leadership and helping shape Republican policy during a pivotal era. He retired from the Senate in 2013, then returned briefly in 2018 when then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to succeed the late Sen. John McCain. He served in that role until 2019, per NBC News. At the time, Kyl was seen as a rare figure acceptable to both McCain allies and supporters of then-President Trump, the Times notes. After Tuesday's announcement, Ducey lauded Kyl and likened his stature in Arizona politics to that of ex-Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater.
Originally hailing from Nebraska, Kyl moved to Arizona when he was 18 to attend the University of Arizona, where he earned both undergraduate and law degrees before joining the state bar in 1966. He worked as a lobbyist in Arizona and later at the Washington law firm Covington & Burling after leaving the Senate. The AP notes that among his lobbying pushes was his promotion of the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The University of Arizona says it will serve as the steward of Kyl's papers, preserving the record of his long career.
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