Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2018
Appointed by
Donald Trump
Preceded by
Anthony Kennedy
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office May 30, 2006 – October 6, 2018
Appointed by
George W. Bush
Preceded by
Laurence Silberman
Succeeded by
Neomi Rao
White House Staff Secretary
In office June 6, 2003 – May 30, 2006
President
George W. Bush
Preceded by
Harriet Miers
Succeeded by
Raul Yanes
Personal details
Born
Brett Michael Kavanaugh
(1965-02-12) February 12, 1965 (age 59) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party
Republican[1]
Spouse
Ashley Estes
(m. 2004)
Children
2
Education
Yale University (BA, JD)
Signature
Brett Kavanaugh's voice
Brett Kavanaugh's opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination to the Supreme Court Recorded September 4, 2018
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]
^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.
^ abKellman, 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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^Nguyen, Tina (September 17, 2018). "Is Brett Kavanaugh cooked?". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
^"Trump says Brett Kavanaugh accusations 'totally political'". BBC News. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
^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.
^Cite error: The named reference usatoday-20181103 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"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.
^"Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and votes". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
^Foran, Clare; Collinson, Stephen. "Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference nyt sworn in was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"The conservative knives come out for Brett Kavanaugh". The Washington Post. January 14, 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
^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.
^Cite error: The named reference 2022NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Brett Michael Kavanaugh (/ˈkævənɔː/; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of...
On July 9, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated BrettKavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring...
traveled to the home of BrettKavanaugh, an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, with plans to break in Kavanaugh's home, kill him, and then...
September 2018, Ford alleged that then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee BrettKavanaugh sexually assaulted her in Bethesda, Maryland, when they were teenagers...
Estes Kavanaugh is an American public official and former political aide. She is the wife of Supreme Court Justice BrettKavanaugh. Kavanaugh was born...
Supreme Court. In early July 2018, Trump nominated BrettKavanaugh as his replacement; Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018. Following the death...
in light of the then-ongoing U.S. Senate hearings to confirm Judge BrettKavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. In an article for The New York Times, Ben...
support the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, BrettKavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Leonard Anthony Leo was born on Long Island...
2016 presidential campaign. She also performed in a mock trial with BrettKavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2016 prior to their appointments to the...
In July 2018, after Trump nominated BrettKavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy, Schumer said Kavanaugh should be asked direct questions about...
following years through the replacement of swing-vote Anthony Kennedy with BrettKavanaugh in 2018 and the replacement of liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy...
against lawyer, jurist, and then-United States Supreme Court nominee BrettKavanaugh. In early 2019, Farrow said he and another journalist received demands...
billboards throughout Orlando. Judge and later Supreme Court Justice BrettKavanaugh, a dissenting judge in a legal case involving her death (see below)...
BrettKavanaugh investigation". AP NEWS. January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023. "Sundance Documentary Reveals Evidence Against BrettKavanaugh"...
presidency of Donald Trump and was succeeded by his former law clerk, BrettKavanaugh. Following O'Connor's death in 2023, Kennedy is the oldest living former...
including current chief justice John Roberts and current associate justice BrettKavanaugh); and five each from Kentucky and New Jersey. States that have produced...
nominations; Trump subsequently won confirmation battles on Neil Gorsuch, BrettKavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. While supportive of most...
with six conservative justices that include justices Neil Gorsuch, BrettKavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett (appointed by President Donald Trump). Dissenting...
assault at face value. The phrase grew in popularity in response to the BrettKavanaugh Supreme Court nomination. Jude Doyle, writing for Elle, argues that...
BrettKavanaugh also for Kennedy, Amy Coney Barrett for Antonin Scalia, and Ketanji Brown Jackson for Stephen Breyer. Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh served...
subsequent contentious confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas and BrettKavanaugh, in 1991 and 2018 respectively, along with the Senate's refusal to...
Thomas and Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegation against BrettKavanaugh "absurd". He called Ford's allegation "even more absurd" than Hill's...