A look at President Donald Trump’s new nominee for the Supreme Court:
NAME — Brett M. Kavanaugh.
AGE-BIRTHDATE: 53, Feb. 12, 1965.
BIRTHPLACE: Washington, D.C.
EDUCATION: B.A., Yale University, 1987; J.D., Yale Law School, 1990.
CURRENT JOB: Since 2006: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
JOB HISTORY: 2003-06: Staff secretary to President George W. Bush; 2001-03: White House counsel’s office; 1999-2001, 1997-98: partner, Kirkland and Ellis law firm; 1998, 1994-97: associate counsel, Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr; 1993-94: law clerk, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy; 1992-93: Office of Solicitor General; 1991-92: law clerk, Judge Alex Kozinski; 1990-91: law clerk, Judge Walter Stapleton.
FAMILY — Wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh; two daughters.
QUOTE — “To be sure, the constitutional text does not answer all questions. Sometimes the constitutional text is ambiguous, such as the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses. No doubt that’s true. But in far fewer places than one would think. As I like to say to my law clerks and my students, we should not strain to find ambiguity in clarity. And even in those areas where there is true ambiguity, that should not mean ‘anything goes.’ Just because there are two reasonable readings of a constitutional provision or a statute does not mean that the gates are open to a completely free-form approach.” — May 2014.
