Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday appointed former Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican, to succeed his longtime friend, the late Senator John McCain.
Kyl, 76, served with McCain as a United States Senator from Arizona and as Senate Minority Whip from 1995 to 2013. In 2006, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of America’s Ten Best Senators, and in 2007 was ranked by the National Journal as the fourth-most conservative US Senator.
The RJC issued a press release noting that Jon Kyl was the author of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act which required the State Department to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.
“That piece of legislation laid the ground work for President Trump’s momentous decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem earlier this year,” the RJC stated, also noting that “Kyl’s previous work as a Senator also includes instrumental work on securing funding for the Arrow missile defense system and pressuring President Obama against unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state.”
Governor Ducey said on Tuesday that “there is no one in Arizona more prepared to represent our state in the U.S. Senate than Jon Kyl. He understands how the Senate functions, and will make an immediate and positive impact benefiting all Arizonans. I am deeply grateful to Senator Kyl for agreeing to succeed his friend and colleague of so many years. Every single day that Jon Kyl represents Arizona in the United States Senate is a day when our state is being well-served.”
The new Junior Senator from Arizona said: “We are all saddened by the circumstances that required this appointment and appreciate there was only one John McCain. John and I served the people of Arizona for nearly two decades, and in that spirit, along with Senator Flake, I will do my best to ensure Arizonans are well represented in the Senate. There is much-unfinished business, including confirmation of President Trump’s nominees for judicial and executive branch positions, and I look forward to getting to work on behalf of my fellow Arizonans.”