Former senator Jon Kyl to fill John McCain's Arizona Senate seat

Cindy McCain calls Mr Kyl a 'dear friend of mine and John’s'

Former US Senator Jon Kyl speaks as Senate Republican leadership hold a press conference in 2012 (Allison Shelley/Getty Images))

Former Senator Jon Kyl will fill the late Senator John McCain’s seat in the US Congress, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has said.

The appointment marks an unexpected return to Capitol Hill for Mr Kyl, who retired in 2013 after serving three terms an Arizona senator. Mr Doucey said he expected the 76-year-old to “hit the ground running", adding that now was “not the time for newcomers”.

“There is no one in Arizona more prepared to represent our state in the US Senate than Jon Kyl,” Mr Ducey said in a statement. “He understands how the Senate functions and will make an immediate and positive impact benefiting all Arizonans."

The appointment expires in November 2020, when a special election will be held to replace Mr McCain, who died last month from an aggressive form of brain cancer. But Mr Kyl has promised only to serve until the close of this Congressional session, which ends in January 2019. He also said that he has no plans to run again in 2020.

"I’m accepting this appointment to fill the seat vacated by the passing of my dear friend because of my sense of duty to the state I love, and the institution of the Senate which I served for 18 years, and because the governor asked for my help," Mr Kyl said at a press conference, according to AZ Central.

The decision was praised by current Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, as well as Mr McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain.

“Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John’s,” Ms McCain tweeted. “It’s a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona.”

The move will not be a dramatic one for Mr Kyl, who has worked for the past five years at Washington-based lobbying firm Covington & Burlington. He has been a familiar face on Capitol Hill since leaving Congress, helping nominees like Attorney General Jeff Sessions prepare for their Senate confirmation hearings, according to Roll Call.

Mr Kyl has been shepherding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through the same process in recent months, and – in an interesting twist – may wind up voting on Mr Kavanaugh's confirmation upon returning to Congress. He is expected to be a reliable conservative vote for President Donald Trump on that issue, and on many to come.

Mr Kyl started his career as an attorney in Phoenix, and joined Congress as a representative from Arizona in 1986. He became a senator eight years later, and worked his way up to the No 2 position of Senate Minority Whip – a position he held for six years.

One of Mr Kyl’s most infamous moments in Congress came in 2011, when he argued against providing federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr Kyl claimed abortions made up “well over 90 per cent” of the services the women’s health clinics provided. Confronted with the fact that abortions make only 3 per cent of the Planned Parenthood’s work, Mr Kyl’s office claimed the senator’s words were "not intended to be a factual statement".

Mr Kyl later claimed he had simply misspoken, and ordered his statement stricken from the congressional record.