Covington & Burling

Jon Kyl, a longtime Arizona Republican who served in Congress for nearly three decades, has died. His death came months after he announced he was withdrawing from public life following a dementia diagnosis disclosed last December.

Kyl represented Arizona in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1995 and in the Senate from 1995 to 2013, at one point serving as Senate minority whip. After leaving the Senate, he joined the lobbying firm Covington & Burling. In 2018, then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to temporarily fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. John McCain, before Kyl returned to lobbying. In that role, he helped steer the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Ducey and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell were among those honoring Kyl, citing his legislative leadership and advocacy for victims of sex crimes.