Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, a longtime lawmaker who rose to become the Senate’s No. 2 Republican and helped shape landmark Western water policy, died Wednesday night at 84.
Kyl’s family announced Thursday that he died from complications of a neurological disease. The family said he “belonged to all of Arizona” and praised a public life devoted to serving the state and nation. Kyl withdrew from public life in December 2025 after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with dementia.
Fox News reported that Kyl represented Arizona in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1995 and the Senate from 1995 to 2013. The Senate’s official biography says Republican colleagues selected him as party whip in 2007, making him the chamber’s second-ranking Republican. He briefly returned in 2018 after then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to fill the vacancy created by Sen. John McCain’s death.
Kyl’s most enduring Arizona legacy centered on water. Before entering Congress, he helped shape the state’s 1980 groundwater code. In 2004, he authored the Arizona Water Settlements Act, which resolved major tribal water claims involving the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O’odham Nation. Arizona State University later named its Kyl Center for Water Policy in his honor.
After his initial retirement, Kyl joined the law and lobbying firm Covington & Burling and helped guide Brett Kavanaugh through the Supreme Court confirmation process. He served less than four months during his 2018 Senate return before resigning at year’s end.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs remembered Kyl as a “dedicated statesman,” while Ducey praised nearly three decades of principled leadership and called Kyl a mentor and friend.
Memorial service details will be announced later, according to the family.
