WELCOME BACK … THE WHIRLWIND OF NEWS CONTINUES: CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL announced today he will not run for re-election. JON KYL, who is currently acting as a sherpa for BRETT KAVANAUGH in the Senate, will replace John McCain in the Senate. Since he retired from the Senate in 2012 after 18 years, Kyl has spent time as a contract lobbyist for entities like SAP America, Qualcomm and Georgetown University.

BOB WOODWARD has a new book that reveals PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP called Attorney General Jeff Sessions “mentally retarded” and floated assassinating Syrian President Bashar Assad. According to Woodward, DEFENSE SECRETARY JIM MATTIS called the president a fifth- or sixth-grader. JOHN KELLY, the president’s chief of staff, called him an “idiot” and said it was pointless to try to convince him of anything.

WOODWARD told the president in a phone call that he asked six people close to him to speak to the president, and they didn’t relay the message to him (transcript of the phone call). Democrats protested the beginning of the confirmation hearing to place Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. And HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI told her members this morning that they need to be prepared to govern in the majority. Copy of the Pelosi letter

BREAKING … “Former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl will be John McCain's successor in the U.S. Senate,” by the Arizona Republic’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Maria Polletta: “Gov. Doug Ducey is scheduled to unveil the 76-year-old as McCain’s successor at a 10 a.m. news conference at the Arizona Capitol … Kyl, who served alongside McCain during his 18 years in the U.S. Senate, will fly to Washington, D.C., following Ducey’s announcement. …

“Kyl has agreed to serve at least through the end of the year, a representative for Ducey said. If he opts to step down after the end of the session, the Republican governor would be required to appoint another replacement.”

ALSO NEW … RAHM EMANUEL BOWS OUT … CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won't run for re-election next year”: “In a stunning decision, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday morning that he will no longer seek a third term in office, signaling the end to what has been a tumultuous – and at times transformative – eight years in office.’ … ‘I’ve decided not to seek re-election,’ Emanuel said. ‘This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime.’”

WHAT BOB WOODWARD GOT … “Bob Woodward’s new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump’s presidency,” by WaPo’s Phil Rucker and Bob Costa: “A central theme of the book is the stealthy machinations used by those in Trump’s inner sanctum to try to control his impulses and prevent disasters, both for the president personally and for the nation he was elected to lead. …

“At a National Security Council meeting on Jan. 19, Trump disregarded the significance of the massive U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula … Trump questioned why the government was spending resources in the region at all. ‘We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,’ Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told him.

“After Trump left the meeting, Woodward recounts, ‘Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — “a fifth- or sixth-grader.”’ …

“Inside the White House, Woodward portrays an unsteady executive detached from the conventions of governing and prone to snapping at high-ranking staff members, whom he unsettled and belittled on a daily basis. …

“After Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate the dictator. ‘Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,’ Trump said, according to Woodward.” … $28.70 on Amazon

-- “Bob Woodward: Trump’s aides stole his papers ‘to protect the country,’” by CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Jamie Gangel and Dan Merica:

-- “Trump irritated he wasn’t interviewed by Woodward for upcoming book,” by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “Woodward made several attempts to interview Trump, CNN is told, and there were serious discussions between high-ranking officials about whether the President should sit down with him. But the interview never panned out, and in recent weeks, Trump has complained to confidants that he didn’t have the chance to speak with Woodward before the book went to print.”

THE CONFIRMATION HEARING -- “Democrats create chaos at Kavanaugh hearing,” by Elana Schor: “Democrats grabbed the reins of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing even before his first words, pressing Republicans to adjourn the hearing on President Donald Trump's nominee as multiple activists on the left erupted in their own disruptions. …

“After repeated interruptions from anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who were escorted from the hearing room by police, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested that Democrats would be held in ‘contempt of court’ — drawing quick pushback from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — and likened the moment to ‘mob rule.’”

-- THERE’S TREMENDOUS POLITICAL RISK in fighting a fight that you know you’re going to lose. Republicans did a lot of that back in 2009 and 2010, which, according to them, led to the rise of the Tea Party. That said, Democrats have a fiery base that’s itching for a fight to tank Kavanaugh.

-- KAVANAUGH … NOT THAT POPULAR … WAPO’S SEUNG MIN KIM and EMILY GUSKIN: “Just under 4 in 10 — 38 percent — say he should be confirmed, while a similar 39 percent say he should not; almost a quarter, 23 percent, have no opinion. Middling levels of overall support plagued the nominations of failed Supreme Court picks for Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush.”

Good Tuesday afternoon. SPOTTED: John Brennan in first class on the 8:50 a.m. Acela to New York … Denis McDonough on the Red Line this morning.

POLITICO SPEAKS WITH TWITTER CEO JACK DORSEY … NANCY SCOLA and ASHLEY GOLD: “Twitter: There's a line Trump could cross”: “Twitter said Tuesday that not even President Donald Trump is immune from being kicked off the platform if his tweets cross a line with abusive behavior.

“The social media company's rules against vitriolic tweets offer leeway for world leaders whose statements are newsworthy, but that ‘is not a blanket exception for the president or anyone else,’ Twitter legal and policy chief Vijaya Gadde told POLITICO in an interview alongside CEO Jack Dorsey.”

WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 10:58 a.m.: “NBC FAKE NEWS, which is under intense scrutiny over their killing the Harvey Weinstein story, is now fumbling around making excuses for their probably highly unethical conduct. I have long criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Look at their license?”

POLITICO 50 -- POLITICO Magazine is out with its annual list of the “50 Ideas Driving Politics (and the People Behind Them).” Trump leads the list, with the top 10 rounded out by the Parkland teens; Leonard Leo; Ronan Farrow, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey; Rod Rosenstein; Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Jim Mattis; Justin Trudeau; and Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay. The full list … What they’re reading

HEADLINES THE PRESIDENT WON’T LIKE -- “How Europe plans to skirt Trump's sanctions and keep doing business with Iran,” by NBC’s Josh Lederman and Dan De Luce: “The goal is to persuade Iran's leaders to stay in the deal for a few more years — perhaps long enough for Trump to be replaced and for a new U.S. president to rejoin the deal.

“Among the creative workarounds under discussion in Brussels and other capitals: Devising an alternative — free from U.S. influence — to the current electronic system used to transfer money from place to place … And since commercial banks must stop handling transactions with Iran or face U.S. penalties, European countries are considering using their own central banks to transfer funds to Iran, wagering that Trump wouldn’t go so far as to sanction an ally’s central bank.”

2018 WATCH -- “Midterms: Could gay rights support push red-state Democrats across the finish line this election?” by USA Today’s Maureen Groppe: “[T]he Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has significantly expanded its grassroots activity … Top priority states are Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin …

“But even red-state Democrats could benefit from HRC’s effort to identify – and target – millions of ‘equality’ voters across the country who are more likely than others to support ‘pro-LGBTQ policies’ and to oppose candidates who don’t. The group has identified more than 500,000 sympathetic voters in Indiana and Missouri, for example, and nearly 100,000 in Montana.”

-- PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER’s JONATHAN TAMARI (@JonathanTamari): “News: @BarackObama will headline a fund raiser for @Bob_Casey in Philly Sept 21.”

THE BIG PICTURE -- “Mad about Trump: Two Americas, both political parties in upheaval and the midterm elections around the corner. The president is smack in the middle,” by NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald, Jon Allen and Benjy Sarlin: “Democrats are moving further left; Republicans are gravitating toward Trump; and the voters increasingly disdain anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

“This is the story of a jostled American electorate on the cusp of rendering its midterm judgment on the Trump presidency. That verdict will shape the final two years of his first term and provide valuable markers for the early contours of the 2020 political battleground that will decide whether the president will have four more years.”

THE INVESTIGATIONS … “Mueller’s Office Will Grill Him About Roger Stone. He Will Respond With Comedy,” by NYT’s Danny Hakim: “Randy Credico, a comedian and left-wing political activist, has an appointment on Sept. 7. With Robert S. Mueller III. Before a grand jury. Under oath. And he is planning to do impressions, because that’s what he does. …

“Mr. Mueller is interested in Mr. Credico’s odd friendship with Roger J. Stone Jr., the self-proclaimed political dirty trickster, Republican consultant and President Trump’s longtime political adviser. Mr. Credico is seen in New York political circles as a dedicated if madcap activist. But he acknowledges that he also took part over the years in some of Mr. Stone’s acts of political deception.”

ALEX GUILLÉN: “Watchdog says EPA did not justify Pruitt security spending”:

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- “U.S., India Look to Patch Up Rocky Relationship With Diplomacy, Defense Deals,” by WSJ’s Rajesh Roy and Bill Spindle in New Delhi: “In a rare top-level meeting set for Thursday, senior American and Indian officials will try to push past an array of irritations in the two countries’ relationship to forge new, far-reaching agreements for military and diplomatic cooperation.

“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are scheduled to meet Indian counterparts … to discuss ways to ramp up joint military exercises, sell more sophisticated U.S. military hardware to India, coordinate development assistance in Asia and boost economic ties. Together, the agreements would take relations between the world’s largest democracies to a new level.”

2020 WATCH -- CBS’ EMILY TILLETT: “John Kerry on 2020: ‘I doubt very much I’ll be running for office again’”

MEDIAWATCH -- Toby Harnden will be the Washington Examiner’s managing editor. He is currently Washington bureau chief of The Sunday Times. Harnden will replace Philip Klein, who’s becoming executive editor.

-- The Atlantic is launching a new Ideas section, helmed by the magazine’s Yoni Appelbaum and Juliet Lapidos, most recently op-ed editor at the Los Angeles Times. The Jeffrey Goldberg introduction

TRANSITIONS -- Derek Mitchell is now president of the National Democratic Institute. He has previously worked as the U.S. ambassador to Myanmar and at the Pentagon. … Morgan Butler is now deputy digital director for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the Senate Democratic Caucus. She was previously digital press secretary for the Joint Economic Committee’s minority staff.

SPOTTED: Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Monday at the Nats-Cardinals game, which the Nats won 4-3.

ENGAGED -- Jon Adame, legislative counsel for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), proposed to Kara Wheeler, who works in government relations at MetLife. “He proposed on the Speaker’s balcony before the two jetted off to Napa for the weekend to celebrate with family.” The couple met while working for the RNC in Maryland in the 2010 cycle. Pic

WEEKEND WEDDINGS -- James Hewitt, press secretary for the EPA and an RNC alum, on Sunday married Cara Read, a senior account manager at BGov, in Freeport, Maine. Pic ... Another pic

SPOTTED: Rob and Ali Lockwood, Michael Short and Natalie Strom, Brent and Cassie Scher, Morgan and Raffi Williams, Russ Read, Todd and Katy Scher, Hugh and Betsy Hewitt (the groom’s parents) and Al Weaver.

-- Dan Black, press secretary for Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), married elementary school teacher Kaitlyn Roman at Woodlawn Farm in Maryland. Kennedy and his wife Lauren as well as Jen Psaki were among the attendees. Pool report: “Fun fact: the groom’s parents Bill Black and Rita Kelliher met decades ago working for former Congressman Barney Frank -- whose seat Rep. Kennedy now holds.” Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Ben Anderson, director of health policy at Children’s Defense Fund, and Alysia Grummert, a teacher, welcomed James Cary Anderson, who came in at 8 lbs 6 oz.

View all our politics and policy newsletters</s>Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Tuesday named Jon Kyl to fill the late John McCain’s Senate seat.

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

Kyl, 76, previously served 18 years in the U.S. Senate, becoming the second-highest-ranked GOP senator before retiring in 2013. According to the Arizona Republic, he has agreed to serve at least through the end of this year. If Kyl chooses to step down at that point, Ducey will have to name another successor.

Kyl said he would not run for the seat in 2020.

Tom Williams via Getty Images Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), left, seen on July 10 as he escorts Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Vice President Mike Pence to meetings with senators.

Kyl joined top K Street firm Covington & Burling shortly after his retirement in 2013, and was recently retained by Facebook to help the social media network combat partisan bias in its news distribution. Ducey contacted Kyl in the hours after McCain’s death on Aug. 25 to see if he’d return to Capitol Hill.

The governor said in his statement he was “deeply grateful” to Kyl for agreeing to succeed his friend and former colleague McCain.

“Every single day that Jon Kyl represents Arizona in the United States Senate is a day when our state is being well-served,” the statement read.

President Donald Trump, who was frequently critical of McCain, praised his replacement:

Jon Kyl will be an extraordinary Senator representing an extraordinary state, Arizona. I look forward to working with him! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018

Cindy McCain, wife of the late senator, tweeted about Kyl on Tuesday, calling him “a dear friend”:

Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John’s. It’s a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona. — Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) September 4, 2018

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) also praised the choice.

Governor Ducey has selected Senator Jon Kyl as Senator McCain’s replacement. What an excellent choice! There is no one more qualified and Arizona is well served. Kudos to Senator Kyl for his willingness to serve once again. — Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 4, 2018

This story has been updated.

Eliot Nelson contributed to this report.</s>Former Arizona US Sen. Jon Kyl to replace John McCain

PHOENIX (AP) — Prolonging the uncertainty over who will fill the late John McCain's U.S. Senate seat, the governor of Arizona on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Sen. Jon Kyl but said he has only committed to serve until the end of the year.

Kyl, a Republican who retired from the Senate in 2012 to spend more time with his family, is currently shepherding Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kyl's appointment will make it possible for him to vote for the nomination.

But it's unclear what more Kyl, 76, will do in Washington. He said he agreed to serve briefly out of a "sense of duty" and will not run for the seat in 2020, when Arizona voters will decide who fills the seat through 2022. The seat will then be up again for a full six-year term.

Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, said Kyl was "the best possible person, regardless of politics" for the job, and he hopes Kyl serves past the end of the year.

If Kyl does leave the Senate after the end of the current congressional term next Jan. 3, Arizona's governor can appoint another senator for the remaining year. By state law the senator will have to be a member of the same party as the departing one, in this case the GOP.

For now, Kyl will pad Republicans' margin in the narrowly divided Senate. They hold a 51-49 majority but that dwindled to a single vote while McCain stayed in Arizona for much of this year being treated for the brain cancer that killed him on Aug. 25.

The GOP is hoping Kyl will be a more reliable partisan vote than McCain, whose opposition to a partial repeal of President Obama's health care law pitched the party into turmoil last year.

Kyl is well-respected in Arizona and has been able to avoid many of the battles with activists that complicated McCain's career and that of the state's other senator, Jeff Flake, who is retiring because his feud with Trump made his re-election impossible.

Kyl's entire career in Washington overlapped with McCain's, and he served with the state's senior senator for three terms before stepping down. Kyl carved out a profile as a reliable conservative vote and a foreign policy expert.

McCain's widow, Cindy, tweeted: "Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John's. It's a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona."

Doug Cole, a veteran Republican consultant and former McCain aide, said Kyl was a good, safe pick.

"I think McCain would be very happy with the pick. Honors his legacy while putting some major horsepower for Arizona in the seat, at least for now," he said.

An attorney, Kyl speaks in a formal, reserved manner that is a sharp contrast to President Trump, and he belongs to an older, less populist vanguard of the GOP. At a news conference where he was introduced as McCain's replacement, Kyl said in a response to a question that he's only met Trump once, though he noted he is working for the White House by serving as Kavanaugh's so-called "sherpa."

With a nod toward McCain, Kyl said the president's "desire to jump into the middle of or be in the middle of a fight — and by the way that reminds me of somebody — can be detrimental in the end to what he's trying to achieve."

The unusual timing of Kyl's appointment could work out for another Arizona Republican who wants to become a U.S. senator — Rep. Martha McSally.

She's currently locked in a tough campaign against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for the Senate seat Flake is vacating. Should she lose, McSally — a former Air Force colonel who once worked on Kyl's staff — could be appointed to the McCain seat if Kyl vacates it in January.

Filling McCain's seat marks a turning point in Arizona political history. The seat has been held by two men who were heralded as giants of the Senate: McCain took the seat once held by Sen. Barry Goldwater after McCain had served in the House of Representatives.

The choice of Kyl will also have political consequences for Ducey. He's up for re-election this November against Democratic challenger David Garcia.

For Republican voters who are on the fence about Ducey, a choice they dislike could cause them to withdraw their support for the incumbent or stay home on Election Day.</s>Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey plans to appoint former senator Jon Kyl, a fellow Republican, to succeed the late-senator John McCain (R), people familiar with his plans said Tuesday.

Kyl served in the Senate from 1995 until 2013. More recently, he guided President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, as he navigated meetings with senators.

McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, appeared to confirm the decision on social media, tweeting: Jon “Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John’s. It’s a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona.”

McCain died Aug. 25 after battling brain cancer. He was 81.

Kyl, 76, served alongside McCain in the Senate and is a reliable conservative vote. One of the first votes he will cast when he is sworn in as senator will be on the confirmation of Kavanaugh to the high court.

McCain has been absent from the Senate since December as he underwent cancer treatment. Kyl’s appointment would give Republicans their full contingent of 51 senators.

This story will be updated.</s>The Arizona governor appointed the former senator to replace McCain

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has chosen the person to succeed John McCain after his recent passing, and that will be former Senator Jon Kyl. The announcement is to be made in a press conference later today. Kyl is considered to be well-liked, and before his death, John McCain said he trusted that the governor would pick the best person.

The New York Times is reporting that Governor Ducey tweeted out this information this morning.

Jon Kyl was the rare choice that was acceptable to both McCain and Trump supporters, so he seemed to be a natural choice. Kyl spoke kindly of McCain at his Arizona memorial service last week but lately has been spending a great deal of his time guiding Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh through the process.

Kyl has only committed to serving through January even though John McCain’s term runs until 2020 when a special election would be triggered, but he is not interested in running for office again in Arizona.

In one of his last interviews, John McCain said he would not offer the governor any guidance on his choice, and Governor Ducey confirmed this. Kyl spoke out to say that he would immediately cut ties with the clients he serves as a lobbyist for the law firm of Covington & Burling, and he thanked John McCain for his service.

Today, John McCain’s widow Cindy gave her seal of approval to the choice of Jon Kyl for the vacated seat. Mrs. McCain said that Kyl is “a dear friend” and that it is “a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service.”

Governor Ducey seemed hopeful that soon-to-be Senator Kyl will stay in McCain’s seat until 2020, but he admitted that he hasn’t been promised that at this time, says CNN.

“I haven’t been able to get that assurance from Sen. Kyl yet. What I have gotten is a commitment to serve Arizona through at least this session of Congress, and it’s my hope that he serves longer. I’m hoping that the senator will consider serving longer.”</s>Prolonging the uncertainty over who will fill the late John McCain's U.S. Senate seat, the governor of Arizona on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Sen. Jon Kyl but said he has only committed to serve until the end of the year.

"It's my hope that he serves longer." Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, said as he announced the pick at the Arizona Capitol. He said Kyl was "the best possible person, regardless of politics."

Kyl, a Republican who retired from the Senate in 2012 to spend more time with his family, is currently shepherding Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kyl's appointment will make it possible for him to vote for the nomination.

But it's unclear what more Kyl, 76, will do in Washington. He said he agreed to serve briefly out of a "sense of duty" and will not run for the seat in 2020, when Arizona voters will have their first decision on who fills the remainder of McCain's seat through 2022. The seat will then be up again for a full six-year term.

If Kyl does not serve after the end of the current congressional term on Jan. 3, 2019, Arizona's governor can appoint another senator for the remaining year. By state law the senator will have to be a member of the same party as the departing one, in this case the GOP.

For now, Kyl will pad Republicans' margin in the narrowly divided Senate. They hold a 51-49 majority but that dwindled to a single vote while McCain stayed in Arizona for much of this year being treated for the brain cancer that killed him on Aug. 25.

The GOP is hoping Kyl will be a more reliable partisan vote than McCain, whose opposition to a partial repeal of President Obama's health care law pitched the party into turmoil last year.

Kyl is well-respected in Arizona and has been able to avoid many of the battles with activists that complicated McCain's career and that of the state's other senator, Jeff Flake, who is retiring because his feud with Trump made his re-election impossible.

Kyl's entire career in Washington overlapped with McCain's and he served with the state's senior senator for three terms before stepping down. Kyl carved out a profile as a reliable conservative vote and a foreign policy expert.

McCain's widow, Cindy, tweeted: "Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John's. It's a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona."

Doug Cole, a veteran Republican consultant and former McCain aide, said Kyl was a good, safe pick.

"I think McCain would be very happy with the pick. Honors his legacy while putting some major horsepower for Arizona in the seat, at least for now," he said.

Filling McCain's seat marks a turning point in Arizona political history. That seat in particular has been held by two men who were heralded as giants of the Senate: McCain took the seat once held by Sen. Barry Goldwater after he had served in the House of Representatives.

The choice will also have political consequences for Ducey. He's up for re-election this November against Democratic challenger David Garcia.

For Republican voters who are on the fence about Ducey, a choice they dislike could cause them to withdraw their support for the incumbent or stay home on Election Day.

McCain's office said an estimated 15,000 people came to see the late senator as he lay in state in the Arizona state Capitol for a public viewing several days after his death.</s>PHOENIX -- The governor of Arizona announced Tuesday that he will appoint former Sen. Jon Kyl to fill the late Sen. John McCain's seat in the U.S. Senate.

Gov. Doug Ducey made the announcement on Twitter minutes before a scheduled news conference.

Kyl, a Republican, is currently shepherding Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kyl's appointment may make it possible for him to vote for the nomination.

Ducey, also a Republican, added the hashtag .KavanaughConfirmation to his announcement.

Ducey says Kyl has committed to serve through the end of this year and the governor hopes he will serve longer.

Either way, Kyle is expected to be a placeholder, not running in 2020, when voters will get to decide who fills the remainder of McCain's seat through 2022. Then the seat will be up again for a full six-year term.

Kyl, an experienced foreign policy hand, will be entering a narrowly divided Senate where Republicans could gain or lose seats in November.

The GOP is hoping he'll be a more reliable partisan vote than McCain, whose opposition to a partial repeal of President Obama's health care law pitched the party into turmoil last year.

Kyl is well-respected in Arizona and has been able to avoid many of the battles with activists that complicated McCain's career and that of the state's other senator, Jeff Flake, who is retiring because his feud with Trump made his re-election impossible.

McCain's widow, Cindy, tweeted: "Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John's. It's a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona."

Doug Cole, a veteran Republican consultant and former McCain aide, said Kyl was a good, safe pick.

"I think McCain would be very happy with the pick. Honors his legacy while putting some major horsepower for Arizona in the seat, at least for now," he said.

Filling McCain's seat marks a turning point in Arizona political history. That seat in particular has been held by two men who were heralded as giants of the Senate: McCain took the seat once held by Sen. Barry Goldwater after he had served in the House of Representatives.

The choice will also have political consequences for Ducey. He's up for re-election this November against Democratic challenger David Garcia.

For Republican voters who are on the fence about Ducey, a choice they dislike could cause them to withdraw their support for the incumbent or stay home on Election Day.

Arizona law requires the governor to appoint a member of the same political party to fill a seat opened by the departure of a senator.

McCain's office said an estimated 15,000 people came to see the late senator as he lay in state in the Arizona state capitol for a public viewing several days after his death.

Nearly 3,500 people gathered at the North Phoenix Baptist Church the following day for a memorial service where former Vice-President Joe Biden spoke.</s>Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has selected former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl to fill late Sen. John McCain’s vacant seat, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the decision.

The Arizona Republic first reported the pick.

Ducey will appoint Kyl, who served three terms alongside McCain and became the Senate minority whip before retiring in 2012, to replace McCain until a 2020 special election to decide who holds it for the final two years of McCain’s term. McCain, who died a week ago after a battle with brain cancer, won his final six-year term in 2016.

Kyl's selection is likely to receive praise from allies of both President Donald Trump and McCain. Kyl has helped direct Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, through the Senate ahead of his confirmation hearings this week. The former senator also had a close relationship with McCain.

Cindy McCain, the late senator's wife, tweeted her praise of the choice shortly after it became public, calling him "a dear friend of mine and John’s. It’s a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona."

Since leaving the Senate, Kyl has been a lobbyist for Covington in Washington.</s>Former Sen. Jon Kyl will replace the late Sen. John McCain in the Senate, according to reports.

AZ Central reports that Kyl, who served in the Senate from 1995 to 2013, will be Gov. Doug Ducey's choice to fill the empty seat. Cindy McCain confirmed the appointment via Twitter and congratulated Kyl.

Kyl, 76, will hold the seat until 2020.

McCain served in the Senate from 1987 until his death at age 81 Aug. 25.</s>Former US Republican Senator Jon Kyl is Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s pick to fill the US Senate seat from Arizona vacated by John McCain, who died last month, the governor said on Tuesday.

Kyl, 76, served with McCain in the Senate and rose to the position of Republican whip, the second-highest leadership post in his party’s Senate leadership before retiring in 2013.

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

McCain’s wife Cindy McCain offered her congratulations to Kyl on Twitter. “Jon Kyl is a dear friend of mine and John’s. It’s a great tribute to John that he is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona,” she wrote.

Once Kyl is sworn in, Republicans will return to the 51 seats they held in the 100-member Senate before McCain’s death. Democrats control 49 seats, including two independents who align with them. While no date has been announced for Kyl to take the oath of office, a swearing-in typically occurs promptly after the governor’s appointment.

Republican President Donald Trump had long feuded with McCain and did not attend the senator’s memorials in Arizona and Washington over the past week, at McCain’s request.

McCain, who died of brain cancer at age 81 on Aug. 25, would have been up for re-election to his seventh term in November 2022.

McCain’s fellow Arizonan, retiring U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, who has been one of the loudest Republican critics of Trump, praised the pick on Twitter.

“What an excellent choice!” Flake wrote. “There is no one more qualified and Arizona is well served. Kudos to Senator Kyl for his willingness to serve once again.”

Kyl served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before he was first elected to the Senate in 1994.

He retired at the end of his third term in January 2013. He voted against the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

It was the sometimes more moderate McCain who last year thwarted fellow Republicans’ attempts to undo Obamacare in a dramatic vote shortly after being diagnosed with cancer in July 2017.

Following Ducey’s announcement, Kyl won quick praise from an opposition Democrat.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, said given that the Arizona governor was “not going to appoint somebody who is going to vote with us, it’s a pretty good appointment.” Hoyer was responding to a reporter’s question about Kyl’s selection.

Hoyer served with Kyl in the House and was in Democratic leadership at the same time Kyl was in Senate Republican leadership.

Kyl now works as a lobbyist at the law firm Covington & Burling and is helping to shepherd U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through the confirmation process.

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Jon Kyl will replace John McCain as Senator of Arizona.