WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl has returned to the lobbying firm that employed him before he was tapped to fill the seat that had been held by the late John McCain.

In a statement released Monday, Covington & Burling said Kyl has rejoined its public policy practice, where he’ll focus “on matters of policy and strategy for the firm’s clients.” Kyl, however, is subject to a two-year cooling off period during which he cannot lobby Congress.

Nonetheless, Timothy Hester, chair of the firm’s management committee, said he expects that Kyl “can make important contributions in a range of matters, particularly for clients in the technology, life sciences, and defense sectors who may face numerous policy challenges in Congress and the executive branch.”


Kyl, a Republican, first joined Covington & Burling in 2013 after 18 years in the Senate and before that eight years in the House.

When McCain died of brain cancer in August, Kyl was appointed to his seat, but said he would only commit to serving until the end of 2018 and he resigned effective Dec. 31.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey named GOP Rep. Martha McSally to replace Kyl just a month after she lost a tight race for the state’s other Senate seat. McSally will serve until 2020, when voters will elect someone to finish the final two years of McCain’s term.

During his first stint at Covington & Burling, Kyl lobbied on behalf of young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, often called “Dreamers,” whose fate is in limbo after President Donald Trump tried to end an Obama-era program protecting them from deportation and Congress deadlocked on a solution.

Kyl also represented defense giant Northrop Grumman. His work was primarily focused on tax issues affecting the company, but Covington & Burling also lobbied the House and Senate to drum up support for the B-21 bomber, a stealth aircraft Northrop Grumman is building for the Air Force.