Jon Kyl | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| United States Senator fromArizona | |
| In office September 4, 2018 – December 31, 2018 | |
| Appointed by | Doug Ducey |
| Preceded by | John McCain |
| Succeeded by | Martha McSally |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis DeConcini |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Flake |
| Senate Minority Whip | |
| In office December 19, 2007 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Leader | Mitch McConnell |
| Preceded by | Trent Lott |
| Succeeded by | John Cornyn |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's4th district | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Eldon Rudd |
| Succeeded by | John Shadegg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jon Llewellyn Kyl (1942-04-25)April 25, 1942 (age 83) Oakland, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | University of Arizona (BA,LLB) |
Kyl before his first retirement from the Senate reflecting on his service withJohn McCain. Recorded December 18, 2012 | |
Jon Llewellyn Kyl (/ˈkaɪl/KYLE; born April 25, 1942)[1] is an American politician and lobbyist who served as aUnited States Senator forArizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death ofJohn McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignation led to the appointment ofMartha McSally in 2019. ARepublican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, serving alongside McCain during his first stint.[2] Kyl wasSenate Minority Whip from 2007 until 2013. He first joined the lobbying firmCovington & Burling after retiring in 2013, then rejoined in 2019.[3]
The son of U.S. RepresentativeJohn Henry Kyl and Arlene (née Griffith) Kyl, Kyl was born and raised inNebraska and lived for some time inIowa. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from theUniversity of Arizona. He worked inPhoenix, Arizona as an attorney and lobbyist before winning election to theUnited States House of Representatives, where he served from 1987 to 1995. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and continued to be re-elected by comfortable margins until his retirement in January 2013. In 2006, he was recognized byTime magazine as one of America's Ten Best Senators.[4] Kyl was ranked byNational Journal in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator.[5] He has been a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing theRepublican Policy Committee (2003–2006) and theRepublican Conference (2006–2007) before becomingSenate Minority Whip until his retirement in 2013. He was named one of the100 most influential people in the world in 2010 for his persuasive role in the Senate.[6]
After leaving the Senate in 2013, Kyl worked as an attorney and lobbyist[7] and then worked to shepherd theSupreme Court nomination ofBrett Kavanaugh in 2018.[8]
In September 2018, Kyl was appointed by GovernorDoug Ducey to serve in the Class 3 Senate seat left vacant by the death ofJohn McCain.[9][8] Kyl is the first person to return to the Senate via appointment sinceNew Hampshire RepublicanNorris Cotton in 1975.[10] Kyl resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018, and was succeeded byMartha McSally.[11]
Kyl was born inOakland, Nebraska, the son of Arlene (née Griffith) andJohn Henry Kyl, a teacher atNebraska State Teachers College. His father served as aCongressman from Iowa after moving his family toBloomfield, Iowa. After graduating from high school in 1960, Kyl attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1964, graduating with honors. Kyl is a member of thePi Kappa Alpha fraternity, as is Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona. He then earned alaw degree in 1966 at the University of Arizona'sJames E. Rogers College of Law, and served as editor-in-chief of theArizona Law Review. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer andlobbyist with Jennings, Strouss & Salmon inPhoenix, Arizona.[12] He also worked as an attorney atMountain States Legal Foundation in Denver, Colorado, prior to running for office.[13]
Kyl is aPresbyterian.[14][15] Kyl is married to Caryll Collins, with whom he has had two children.[16] They also have four grandchildren.
He was first elected in 1986 againstDemocrat Philip R. Davis, 65% to 35%.
He was re-elected in 1988 against Gary Sprunk of theLibertarian Party, 87% to 13%;[17]
He was re-elected in 1990 against Democrat Mark Ivey Jr., 61% to 39%;[18]
For his first six terms, Kyl represented most of the northeastern portion of the state, from heavily Republican northern Phoenix to the New Mexico border. Redistricting after the1990 census carved away all of Kyl's former territory outside theValley of the Sun. The new 4th, however, was as safely Republican as its predecessor, and Kyl easily won reelection in 1992 against Democrat Walter R. Mybeck II, 59% to 27%.[19]
Kyl served in theHouse of Representatives from 1987 to 1995.Kyl voted for theAbandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987.[20] The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventingtreasure hunters and salvagers from damaging them. PresidentRonald Reagan signed it into law on April 28, 1988.[21]
Kyl was first elected to theSenate in1994, defeatingSamuel G. Coppersmith (D), then a member of the House of Representatives, 54% to 40%.Libertarian Party candidate Scott Grainger got 6% of the votes.
Kyl was re-elected in2000 without major-party opposition, with 79% of the vote. Independent William Toel got 8%;Green Party candidate Vance Hansen also got 8%; andBarry Hess of the Libertarian Party got 5%.
On November 7, 2006, Kyl defeated real estate developer and formerArizona Democratic Party chairmanJim Pederson to win his third term in the Senate.[22] Kyl won with 53% of the vote; Pederson received 44%; and Libertarian Party candidateRichard Mack received 3%. The race was one of the most expensive in Arizona history, with Kyl raising more than $15 million and Pederson raising just shy of that amount.[23]
A major issue in the campaign wasillegal immigration. While in the Senate, Kyl cosponsored legislation that would give illegal immigrants up to five years to leave the country. Once there, they could apply forpermanent residence or beguest workers.[24] Since fellow Arizona SenatorJohn McCain opposed this legislation, Pederson tried to use the issue as a way of allying with McCain and dividing Republicans in Arizona.[25] Controversy also arose when each candidate accused the other of supporting theamnesty provisions in a 1986 immigration bill, although both candidates deny ever supporting those provisions.[26]
Kyl was elected by his fellow Senate Republicans to a succession of leadership posts:Policy Committee chairman (2003–2007),Conference chairman (2007), and most recently (in December 2007),Senate Minority Whip.[27] Kyl's ascension to Minority Whip makes him the first Arizonan to hold such an influential Senate leadership post since DemocratErnest W. McFarland served asSenate Majority Leader from 1951 to 1953. Kyl is the only Arizona Republican to hold that leadership position.
Kyl voted to confirmJohn Roberts as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court[28] as well asSamuel Alito as associate justice.[29] However, he voted against the nominations ofSonia Sotomayor[30] andElena Kagan.[31]
In 2010, Democratic Senate LeaderHarry Reid wanted the Senate to return to work on the week between Christmas and New Year's in order to pass time-critical legislation including theJames Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would ensure health coverage for9/11first responders. Kyl made a public comment that this would disrespect "one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate."[32] First responder Kenny Specht appeared onThe Daily Show and replied, "You won't find a single New York firefighter who considers it a sign of disrespect to work in a New York City firehouse on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day."[33] The Zadroga Act passed on December 22.
During a Senate debate on April 8, 2011, Kyl said that performing abortions is "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does".Planned Parenthood responded that 90 percent of its services are to providecontraception,STD andcancer testing and treatment, and only 3 percent are abortion-related. A spokesperson for Kyl later claimed the senator's remark "was not intended to be a factual statement but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, an organization that receives millions in taxpayer dollars, does subsidize abortions."Politifact noted that Planned Parenthood's numbers (from their most recent Annual Report, year ending June 30, 2009[34]) are the result of self-reporting and that there is no national audit on such claims, but stated their belief that Kyl "vastly overstated" the number.[35]Michael New, a political science professor writing atNational Review suggested that perhaps Kyl's comments were based on the pregnancy-related services provided to pregnant women, citing Planned Parenthood's 2009 annual report figures and claiming that 98% of those services were for abortion.[36] The phrase "not intended to be a factual statement" was mocked by political comedians such asStephen Colbert, who joked, "You can't call him out for being wrong when he never intended to be right."[37]
In 2012, Kyl voted against ratification of the UN TreatyConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[38]
On September 4, 2018, Kyl was appointed by RepublicanArizona governor Doug Ducey to the state's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat that had been vacated due toJohn McCain's death until a2020 special election could be held.[39]
Kyl is only the sixth person to return to the Senate via appointment since the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendment (mandating the direct election of U.S. senators) in 1913.[40] The last preceding case had beenNorris Cotton (New Hampshire) who in 1975 was appointed back to the Senate after thedisputed election of 1974.
After leaving the Senate, Kyl served in 2018 assherpa forBrett Kavanaugh'snomination to the Supreme Court in 2018.[41]Kyl voted in favor of theconfirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.[42] He opposed theFIRST STEP Act. The bill passed 87–12 on December 18, 2018.[43]
He resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018,[44] and was succeeded by CongresswomanMartha McSally, a fellow Republican.[45]
Kyl is considered to be aconservative[46] and was ranked byNational Journal as the fourth-most conservative United States Senator in their March 2007 conservative/liberal rankings.[5] In addition, in April 2006, Kyl was selected byTime Magazine as one of "America's 10 Best Senators"; the magazine cited his successful behind-the-scene efforts as head of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.[47] Senator Kyl has earned a 96.58% Lifetime Score from theAmerican Conservative Union.[48]
Kyl is a signer ofAmericans for Tax Reform'sTaxpayer Protection Pledge.[49]
Kyl was one of the original sponsors, along with Democratic SenatorDianne Feinstein, of an effort toamend the United States Constitution to protect crime victims' rights in the criminal justice system. When in 2004 it appeared that the constitutional amendment would not receive the requisite 2/3 support to pass the Senate, Kyl and Feinstein authored the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which listed a victims' bill of rights and providedmandamus relief in appellate court for any victim denied those rights.[50] The act also offered sanctions against government officials who wantonly and willfully refused to comply with the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
In November 2010, Kyl opposed theNew STARTarms control treaty's ratification in thelame-duck session.[51][52] Nevertheless, the treaty passed 71–26, clearing the constitutionally mandated two-thirds threshold by the narrowest margin of any nuclear arms control treaty ever ratified by the United States.
Kyl andBob Goodlatte were among the first in the United States to draft legislation on online gambling. In the late 1990s they introduced bills to the Senate that would curb online gambling activities except for those that involved horse and dog races and state lotteries.[53] The bill by Kyl, known as the Kyl bill, was not passed in the end due to certain loopholes. Attorney Jorge Van, at the time principal investigator of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission on Internet Gambling, pointed out that under the Kyl bill "state lotteries would be able to offer a variety of games under the guise of a lottery, including slot machines", which ultimately would allow "interactive wagering at home on the internet which the law aimed to prevent in the first place".[54]
In September 2006, working with then-CongressmanJim Leach, Kyl was a major Senate supporter ofUnlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The Act was passed at midnight the day Congress adjourned before the2006 elections. Prior to it being added to thebill, the gambling provisions had not been debated by anyCongressional committee, although the general issue had been debated in multiple times in the past.[55] When publication of the associated regulations was delayed until June 2010, Kyl responded by denying unanimous consent to confirm the appointment of 6 nominees to theU.S. Treasury Department, none of whom specialized on gambling issues.[56][57]
Kyl voted against theAffordable Care Act (Obamacare) in December 2009,[58] and he voted against theHealth Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[59]
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In February 2006, Kyl joined SenatorLindsey Graham in anamicus brief in theHamdan v. Rumsfeld case. The brief presented to theSupreme Court of the United States an "extensive colloquy" added to theCongressional Record. It was not, however, included in the December 21 debate as evidence that "Congress was aware" that theDetainee Treatment Act of 2005 would strip the Court of jurisdiction to hear "pending cases, including this case" brought by theGuantanamo detainees.[60]
In the spring of 2009, Kyl invitedGeert Wilders to show his filmFitna to theUnited States Congress, which led toAmerican Muslim protests.[61]
In 2011, Kyl said that the GOP had abandoned opposition to defense cuts.[62]
On December 30, 2025, Kyl announced hisdementia diagnosis and retirement from public life.[63] Subsequently, theUniversity of Arizona announced that it had been selected as the repository for Kyl's papers.[64]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 4th congressional district 1987–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Keith DeGreen | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from Arizona (Class 1) 1994,2000,2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Senate Republican Steering Committee 2001–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Republican Policy Committee 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Senate Republican Conference 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Republican Whip 2007–2013 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Arizona 1995–2013 Served alongside:John McCain | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Minority Whip 2007–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Arizona 2018 Served alongside:Jeff Flake | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Senate Majority Whip | Order of precedence of the United States as former U.S. Senate Minority Whip | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Senator |
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| Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013) |
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