“However, the time has come for me to withdraw from public life. I have been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia,” Kyl said.

“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties. I am grateful beyond expression for their love and support, in these coming days as in all the days of my life. Despite this diagnosis, I remain a very fortunate man,” Kyl said.

The former senator rose through the ranks of Senate leadership to serve as the minority Republican whip for three congresses at the end of his consecutive terms. In September 2018, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Kyl to fill McCain’s vacancy. Kyl helped facilitate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation before fully retiring from the Senate on Dec. 31, 2018.

Following his retirements in 2013 and 2018, Kyl joined Covington as a lobbyist, where he advocated clients such as PhRMA and Qualcomm.

Kyl, a former water law attorney, had the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Morrison Institute, a part of Arizona State University, named after him for his knowledge of water policy and law, according to The Arizona Republic. Kyl is a graduate of the University of Arizona, which first brought him to the Grand Canyon state, and where he met his wife, Caryll.

In his Tuesday statement, Kyl paid homage to former President Ronald Reagan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, toward the end of his life.

“In a letter to the American people in similar circumstances, Ronald Reagan wrote that he was headed into ‘the sunset of my life.’ Yet, he expressed confidence that, for America, there would ‘always be a bright dawn ahead.’ I share Reagan’s confidence about the future, for the country and for our state,” Kyl said.

ILLEGAL ENTRIES INTO ARIZONA PLUMMET, 60% FEWER GOTAWAYS THAN IN BIDEN YEARS

Several public officials, including Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), have put out statements supporting Kyl.

“Jon Kyl’s decades of service to Arizona, in Congress, the Senate and in public life, reflects a deep commitment to our state. I admire his leadership and my heart goes out to him and his family as they face this diagnosis. Arizonans are grateful for his service,” Hobbs said.