Brett Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh
Official portrait of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Official portrait, 2018
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 6, 2018
Nominated byDonald Trump
Preceded byAnthony Kennedy
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office
May 30, 2006 – October 6, 2018
Nominated byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byLaurence Silberman
Succeeded byNeomi Rao
White House Staff Secretary
In office
June 6, 2003 – May 30, 2006
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byHarriet Miers
Succeeded byRaul Yanes
Personal details
Born
Brett Michael Kavanaugh

(1965-02-12) February 12, 1965 (age 59)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
Spouse
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2
EducationYale University (BA, JD)
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Brett Kavanaugh's voice
Brett Kavanaugh delivers the opinion of the Court in New York v. New Jersey
Recorded April 18, 2023

Brett Michael Kavanaugh (/ˈkævənɔː/; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since October 6, 2018. He was previously a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2006 to 2018.[2]

Kavanaugh studied history at Yale University, where he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He then attended Yale Law School, after which he began his career as a law clerk working under Judge Ken Starr. After Starr left the D.C. Circuit to become the head of the Office of Independent Counsel, Kavanaugh assisted him with investigations concerning President Bill Clinton, including drafting the Starr Report recommending Clinton's impeachment. He joined the Bush administration as White House staff secretary and was a central figure in its efforts to identify and confirm judicial nominees.[3] Bush nominated Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2003. His confirmation hearings were contentious and stalled for three years over charges of partisanship. Kavanaugh was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in May 2006.[2][4][5]

President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018, to fill the position vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy. Before his U.S. Senate confirmation proceedings began, Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the early 1980s.[6][7][8] Three other women also accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, one of whom later recanted her story.[9][10][11][12] None of the accusations were corroborated by eyewitness testimony, and Kavanaugh denied them. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a supplemental hearing over the allegations and voted 11–10 along party lines to advance the confirmation to a full Senate vote.[13] On October 6, the full Senate confirmed Kavanaugh by a vote of 50–48.[14][15]

Since the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020, Kavanaugh has come to be regarded as a swing vote on the Court.[16][17] He was the target of an assassination plot in June 2022; the suspect had hoped to disrupt the rulings in Dobbs and Bruen.[18]

  1. ^ Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be Circuit Judge for The District of Columbia Circuit. U.S. Government Printing Office Washington : 2006. 2006. ISBN 978-0-16-076615-2. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kellman, Laurie (May 23, 2006). "Kavanaugh Confirmed U.S. Appellate Judge". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  3. ^ Lewis, Neil (April 28, 2004). "Bush Aide on Court Nominees Faces Fire as Nominee Himself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  4. ^ Lewis, Neil (May 10, 2006). "Senators Renew Jousting Over Court Pick". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  5. ^ Lewis, Neil (July 26, 2003). "Bush Selects Two for Bench, Adding Fuel to Senate Fire". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  6. ^ Tchekmedyian, Alene (September 18, 2018). "Christine Blasey Ford agonized about going public with Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault allegations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  7. ^ Brown, Emma (September 16, 2018). "California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  8. ^ Nguyen, Tina (September 17, 2018). "Is Brett Kavanaugh cooked?". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "Trump says Brett Kavanaugh accusations 'totally political'". BBC News. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Estepa, Jessica (September 26, 2018). "Third woman makes sexual misconduct allegations about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference usatoday-20181103 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Brett Kavanaugh and allegations of sexual misconduct: The complete list - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  13. ^ "Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and votes". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Foran, Clare; Collinson, Stephen. "Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt sworn in was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "The conservative knives come out for Brett Kavanaugh". The Washington Post. January 14, 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  17. ^ Stephen Jesseea, Neil Malhotra, and Maya Sen. "A decade-long longitudinal survey shows that the Supreme Court is now much more conservative than the public". National Academy of Sciences, April 12, 2022. Accessed June 14, 2022.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2022NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).