Former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, who spent nearly three decades representing Arizona in Congress and rose to become the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, has died at 84 after a battle with a neurological disease, drawing tributes from former colleagues who called him one of the state's finest public servants.
Kyl's family announced his death Thursday, Fox News reported. He had stepped away from public life in December after disclosing a diagnosis of a neurological disease that had resulted in dementia. His family confirmed he died from complications of that illness, Breitbart reported.
Kyl first went to Washington in 1987 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He served there for eight years before winning election to the Senate in 1995, where he would remain until his retirement in 2013. During that stretch he rose to Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest leadership post in the Republican conference.
His career did not end there. When Senator John McCain died in 2018, then-Arizona Governor Doug Ducey appointed Kyl to fill the vacancy. Kyl returned to the Senate briefly, serving out the final months of the term before stepping aside again.
Ducey, who had tapped Kyl for the McCain seat, posted a tribute on X Thursday. He called Kyl's contribution to the state personal as well as political.
"Jon Kyl gave Arizona nearly three decades of principled, thoughtful leadership, and he gave me something just as valuable: his mentorship and friendship. I'll miss him deeply. Rest in peace, Senator Kyl."
Former Senator Jeff Flake, who succeeded Kyl in the Senate, was more expansive. In his own post on X, Flake wrote that "Arizona has lost a giant" and called Kyl "one of the most diligent and effective public servants Arizona has ever had."
Flake also spoke to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday, offering a window into the kind of lawmaker Kyl was, and the kind of advice he gave. Flake said Kyl counseled him early on to make sure his family understood and participated in his work in Washington.
"He said they will either resent it or revel in it. And that was the best advice I got, because we tried to follow that. And he was just... in addition to being an extremely effective public servant, he was a good man. And I think that that shined through."
Kyl's legacy in the Senate extended well beyond party leadership. Flake highlighted his work on Western water policy, an issue that touches every state in the arid Southwest but rarely makes national headlines. The kind of work, in other words, that rewards patience and legal precision rather than cable-news grandstanding.
Today's Senate Republican caucus faces its own internal pressures, but Kyl represented an era when legislative detail work was the coin of the realm in the upper chamber.
Flake credited Kyl with negotiating nine Indian water settlements during his Senate tenure, agreements that secured water rights for tribal nations in Arizona while allowing the state to manage its growth sustainably. That kind of legislative heavy lifting rarely earns a senator a national profile, but it shapes the daily lives of millions of residents.
"That's the workhorse in him. I think he did nine Indian water settlements during his time, which has allowed the Indian tribes in Arizona to have the water they need and also for the state to grow sustainably."
Kyl's legal background also made him a trusted figure on judicial confirmations. Flake said Kyl was asked after leaving Congress to guide, or "sherpa," in Senate parlance, certain Supreme Court nominees through the confirmation process. He was effective in that role, Flake said, because he had earned the respect of colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
The question of aging lawmakers and how they exit public life has become a recurring theme in Washington. Kyl handled it with characteristic discipline: he announced his diagnosis in December, stepped back quietly, and let his record speak.
In a statement, Kyl's family reflected on his devotion to the state he served for so long.
"We know that Jon belonged to all of Arizona, a state he loved and explored with vigor, curiosity, and wonder. Serving his state and nation in Congress was a privilege and responsibility he honored and respected. We are grateful for his full and meaningful public life."
Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona also weighed in, calling Kyl "a true statesman, mentor to so many and a giant in Arizona and our country."
Flake told reporters he had spoken with Kyl just before the December announcement. He described the conversation as warm and clear-eyed, Kyl was still fully aware of what Arizona had been through politically and what lay ahead.
"I made sure to tell him how appreciative all Arizonans are of what he did for the state and what he did for the country. And, he was so devoted to his wife, Carol, and his family, and the state of Arizona."
Flake also recalled one lighter moment from Kyl's brief 2018 return to the Senate. Because Flake was already serving when Kyl arrived to fill the McCain vacancy, Flake technically held the title of senior senator from Arizona, a reversal of their actual seniority that Flake said he "didn't deserve" but that the two men joked about.
At a time when Senate Republicans navigate sharp internal disagreements, Kyl's career stands as a reminder that the institution once rewarded a different set of skills: mastery of policy detail, coalition-building across party lines on regional issues, and a willingness to do work that never trended on social media.
Kyl's path through Washington followed a straightforward arc. Eight years in the House. Eighteen years in the Senate. A brief return to service when his state needed him. Then a quiet exit when his health demanded it.
He did not chase cameras. He chased water settlements, judicial confirmations, and the grinding committee work that keeps a growing Western state from running dry. That kind of career does not produce viral moments. It produces results.
With competitive Senate races shaping the GOP's future, Arizona Republicans will feel Kyl's absence not just as a personal loss but as the passing of a standard, a reminder of what conservative governance looks like when the priority is getting things done rather than getting attention.
Washington could use more workhorses and fewer show horses. Jon Kyl was the former, through and through.
