Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, who works as senior of counsel at Covington & Burling, is expected to return to the U.S. Senate in replacement of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died last month.

Kyl served as the lead sherpa for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's U.S. Supreme Court nomination and was absent from Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination.

“There is no one in with the stature of Senator Jon Kyl,” tweeted Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday, confirming Kyl's appointment. “With nearly two decades of experience in the Senate—serving alongside John McCain—Senator Kyl is prepared to hit the ground running. .”

Cindy McCain, John McCain's widow, acknowledged the news on Twitter and said, “It's a great tribute to John that [Kyl] is prepared to go back into public service to help the state of Arizona.”

Kyl joined Covington in early 2013 after retiring from the U.S. Senate as the second-highest ranking Republican senator. He served on the Senate Judiciary Committee during four of the last five U.S. Supreme Court justices' confirmation hearings and could have an opportunity to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination as well.

At Covington, Kyl has been busy. In addition to guiding Kavanaugh through meetings with U.S. senators, he also shepherded U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' confirmation and helped President Donald Trump's selection for U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, get ready for a Senate committee hearing in June. He was one of two lobbyists at Covington who reported receiving $100,000 in income from the right-leaning Judicial Crisis Network to work in support of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch's confirmation in 2017.

Prior to former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's June announcement that he would retire from the nation's highest court, Facebook Inc. tapped Kyl in May to lead an inquiry into allegations of anti-conservative bias on the social media network.

“Senator Kyl has been an exceptional colleague and a wonderful resource for the firm and our clients, and we are extremely proud that he has decided to serve the country and the people of Arizona in this important role,” said a Covington spokesman in a statement.