Jon Kyl

Who is Jon Kyl?

Jon Llewellyn Kyl is a former United States Senator from Arizona, where he served as Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. He currently works in the lobbying group at the law firm Covington & Burling.

The son of U.S. Representative John Henry Kyl, he was born and raised in Nebraska and lived for some time in Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Arizona. He worked in Phoenix, Arizona as a lawyer and lobbyist before winning election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1987 to 1995. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and continued to be re-elected by large margins until his retirement.

In 2010, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate. Kyl was ranked by National Journal in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator. He has been a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing the Republican Policy Committee and the Republican Conference. In December 2007 he became Senate Minority Whip.