Former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Water Policy Champion, Dies at 84

PHOENIX (AZStateNews) — Former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, a longtime Republican lawmaker from Arizona who shaped landmark water policies in the U.S. West and helped guide the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has died at 84.

Kyl died Wednesday night from complications of a neurological disorder, according to a longtime friend of the Kyl family. In December 2025, he had withdrawn from public life after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia.

A career spanning nearly three decades

Kyl served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995 and in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013. His career spanned from the presidency of Ronald Reagan to the first term of President Donald Trump.

After retiring from politics in 2013 and becoming a lobbyist, Kyl returned to the Senate briefly in 2018 when then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to fill the vacancy left by the late U.S. Sen. John McCain. He served less than four months before returning to his role at the lobbying firm Covington and Burling.

During his final full Senate term, Kyl rose to become the Senate minority whip. He drew praise from President Trump, who said he looked forward to working with "the extraordinary senator."

Shaping Arizona's water future

Kyl's most lasting legacy is his work on water policy. Before he was first elected to the House in 1987, he helped shape Arizona's 1980 groundwater code as a lawyer representing a large water utility. The first-of-its-kind code created a regulatory framework for managing groundwater in the drought-stricken state, centered on the state's major population centers including Phoenix and Tucson.

In 2004, Kyl authored legislation that provided one of the largest tribal water rights settlements in the nation. The deal, the product of a decades-long negotiation, gave the Gila River Indian Community enough water to fill nearly 313,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools annually.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who later served as Senate majority leader, called Kyl's work ethic "legendary" in a 2012 floor speech. Arizona State University's Kyl Center for Water Policy takes its name from him.

Reactions from state and national leaders

Former Gov. Doug Ducey, who described Kyl as a mentor, called him a "giant" in the Senate. "Jon Kyl gave Arizona nearly three decades of principled, thoughtful leadership — and he gave me something just as valuable: his mentorship and friendship," Ducey wrote on X.

Gov. Katie Hobbs said Arizonans are mourning the loss of a dedicated statesman who always cared deeply for the state.

Former Gov. Jan Brewer wrote that Kyl "served our state and nation with extraordinary intellect, integrity and humility."

Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, who followed Kyl in the Senate, said Arizona had "lost a giant." Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen called Kyl "one of its finest statesman."

Kyl was born in Oakland, Nebraska, on April 25, 1942, and grew up in a rural farming district in Iowa. He moved to attend the University of Arizona at 18, where he met his wife, Caryll, and earned a law degree.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.