Arizona's GOP governor names infamous liar Jon Kyl to replace McCain

Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey, is appointing former Sen. Jon Kyl to serve in the late Sen. John McCain’s Senate seat — but just for a while.

The New York Times notes that “the former senator has only committed to serving until the start of the next Congress, in January, according to the officials familiar with the planning.”

In other words, it appears Kyl has agreed to serve as senator just long enough to be a reliable “yes” vote for Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. Kyl has been shepherding Kavanaugh through the Senate, so there is no question that he will vote to confirm.

During his previous stint in Congress, Kyl was a conservative stalwart, once ranked the fourth most conservative U.S. senator.

While he was still in the Senate, Kyl was part of the conservative smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. He only falsely claimed that “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does” is abortion.

When caught promoting that whopper — the actual percentage at the time, according to PolitiFact’s fact-checking of Kyl’s claim was more like 3 percent — Kyl’s office then absurdly stated that “his remark was not intended to be a factual statement.”

Perhaps realizing how strange it is to refer to a congressional statement this way, Kyl expunged his claim from the congressional record, but it was too late. Years later, Kyl is still perhaps best known for his office’s admission that he simply made up a statement that had no factual basis.

Kyl retired in 2012 and was replaced by Jeff Flake, who is now also retiring. Kyl has spent the last several years working as a Washington lobbyist.

Kyl brings a right-wing outlook disinterested in the truth back to the Senate, along with experience in growing the swamp. He’ll fit right in with Trump and the Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.