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3h ago

Jon Kyl, 83, Discloses Dementia and Withdraws From Public Life

His office released a statement requesting privacy with no further family comment.

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2018, photo, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., waits to be sworn in as a U.S. Senator by Vice President Mike Pence in at the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
FILE - Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, left, and Bruce Babbitt, right, former Arizona Republican governor and secretary of the Interior, wave to the crowd as they are recognized during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's state of the state address Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin,File)
Former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., vice chair, Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, testifies during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the "findings of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States," in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2023.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (left) and Sen. Jon Kyl

Overview

  • The former Arizona senator said a neurological disease manifesting as dementia prompted his decision to step away.
  • In his statement, he echoed Ronald Reagan’s “sunset of my life” phrasing and voiced optimism about the country and his state.
  • Kyl represented Arizona in the House and Senate for nearly three decades, including service as Senate minority whip.
  • After leaving the Senate in 2013, he joined Covington and Burling and later helped guide Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation.
  • He briefly returned to the Senate in 2018 after Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to fill the vacancy created by John McCain’s death, and he is widely noted for his work on water policy, including the ASU Kyl Center for Water Policy.