Jon Kyl, Influential Arizona Senator, Passes Away at 84

WHO:

ABC News - Jon Kyl, former U.S. Senator from Arizona.

Fox News - Jon Kyl, former Senate Minority Whip and member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Fox News - Doug Ducey, former Arizona Governor who appointed Kyl to the Senate.

Fox News - Jeff Flake, former Republican Senator from Arizona who served with Kyl.

WHAT:

ABC News - Jon Kyl has died at the age of 84.

Fox News - Kyl was first sworn into the Senate in 1995 and retired in 2013.

Fox News - Kyl returned to the Senate in 2018 after the death of John McCain.

Fox News - Kyl announced his retirement from public life in December 2025 after being diagnosed with a neurological disease leading to dementia.

Fox News - Doug Ducey expressed his condolences, stating Kyl provided Arizona with nearly three decades of leadership.

WHERE:

Fox News - Arizona, where Kyl served as a Senator and Congressman.

WHEN:

Fox News - Kyl was first sworn into the Senate in 1995.

Fox News - Kyl retired from the Senate in 2013.

Fox News - Kyl returned to the Senate in 2018.

Fox News - Kyl announced his retirement in December 2025.

WHY:

Fox News - Kyl stepped away from public life due to a diagnosis of a neurological disease resulting in dementia.

HOW:

Fox News - Doug Ducey appointed Kyl to fill John McCain's Senate seat in 2018.

(UPDATED September 17, 2026 17:02 UTC)

Jon Kyl, the former U.S. Senator from Arizona, has died at the age of 84. Kyl, who first joined the Senate in 1995 and returned in 2018 after the death of John McCain, announced his retirement from public life in December 2025 due to a diagnosis of a neurological disease leading to dementia. Doug Ducey, the former Arizona Governor who appointed Kyl to the Senate, expressed his condolences, highlighting Kyl's nearly three decades of leadership in the state.