Brett Kavanaugh

On February 12, 1965, in Washington, D.C., Brett Kavanaugh was born into a family connected to law and public service in the capital region. He graduated from Yale College in 1987 and Yale Law School in 1990, then entered elite legal and political networks through clerkships and service in independent counsel investigations. Work for Kenneth Starr and in the George W. Bush White House made him a prominent conservative lawyer before reaching the federal bench.

Kavanaugh joined the D.C. Circuit in 2006 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2018 after one of the most contentious confirmation battles of the modern era. His confirmation hearings combined constitutional argument with highly polarized conflict over sexual misconduct allegations, Senate procedure, and the Court's legitimacy. On the bench he has influenced major rulings on abortion, administrative law, presidential immunity, and the separation of powers.

Kavanaugh's appointment strengthened the conservative majority that reshaped constitutional law in the 2020s. Cases on executive authority, agency power, and reproductive rights continue to reflect the judicial realignment his confirmation helped cement.