Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl To Step Down Dec. 31

Published: Friday, December 14, 2018 - 8:29am
Updated: Friday, December 14, 2018 - 8:34am
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (left) and Sen. Jon Kyl at the press conference for Kyl's appointment on Sept. 4, 2018.

Gov. Doug Ducey announced Friday morning he’d received Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl’s resignation letter.

Kyl will leave the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31. His resignation was hand-delivered to the governor’s office Thursday afternoon.

In it, Kyl thanked the governor for appointing him to replace Sen. John McCain who died in August from a brain tumor. Kyle wrote that he thought it best to resign so that Ducey’s new appointee could begin the term with all of the U.S. Senators in January, and serve a full two, “potentially four,” years.

The 116th Congress is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3, 2019 and McCain's seat is up for re-election in 2020.

In a statement, Ducey said he’s deeply grateful for Kyl’s willingness to serve again.

Kyl moved from the House to the U.S. Senate after winning the 1994 election, and he retired at the end of 2012.

He had been working as an attorney and lobbyist and was preparing to retire completely this year before Ducey asked him to fill McCain's seat.

Politics