Kavanaugh a year later: How much of a conservative Catholic is he?
Brett Kavanaugh (left), surrounded by his family and President Donald Trump, takes the oath as the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2018 following a contentious confirmation process. Photo courtesy of The White House.
NEW YORK — On July 9, 2018, a fuse was lit. President Donald Trump invited reporters and lawmakers into the East Room of the White House to announce his nomination of conservative Catholic justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. Two months later, that fuse would explode into one of the most contentious confirmations in history, the lasting effects of which continue today.
Twelve days after Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing began, Christine Blasey Ford accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s when they were teenagers in suburban Maryland. She claimed Kavanaugh and his friend drunkenly cornered her into a bedroom at a small party, locked the door and played music as Kavanaugh groped her on the bed.
A week after Ford’s accusation went public, Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale classmate, claimed Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party during their freshman year. Three days later, Julie Swetnick accused Kavanaugh of being present at a high school party where she was gang raped.
Kavanaugh vehemently denied all the allegations lodged against him at the time. The Senate would end up confirming Kavanaugh by a vote of 50 to 48, the narrowest in Supreme Court history and one that remains polarizing politically to this day. He officially took the oath on Oct. 6, 2018.
How did we get here?
Ultimately, the FBI closed is investigation into the matter, reporting it was unable to corroborate any of the sexual misconduct accusations. Kavanaugh was then narrowly confirmed by the Senate and sworn in.
The Kavanaugh accusations came at a time when the #MeToo movement was in its prime. Many analysts and activists now recognize that Ford’s allegation against Kavanaugh led to the movement’s association with the Democratic party.
In an interview with The Hill, analyst Bill Schneider said, “This Kavanaugh hearing has meant that the MeToo movement, which didn't start out as political or partisan, has become extremely partisan.”
The court’s Catholic majority
After touting his Jesuit boarding school education and regular Mass attendance during his confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh joined the Supreme Court’s Catholic majority and helped tilt it in favor of conservatives.
Regardless of his faith, Kavanaugh’s job as a Supreme Court justice is to uphold the Constitution. For example, the best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review — the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution. Nonetheless, his politics and religious beliefs became a focal point of the confirmation hearings.
Nonetheless, one of the big questions posed upon his confirmation was: Will the Court overturn Roe v. Wade? The short answer is not yet. For now, the precedent remains. However, Kavanaugh did vote to allow a Louisiana law that would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, which would effectively result in many abortion clinics shutting down. Chief Justice John Roberts, though, joined the liberal minority to stay the decision.
Still, Kavanaugh’s vote decided several important cases during his first term on the Court, some of which seemed to go against his Catholic and political convictions.
Kavanaugh ruled to allow the execution of a Muslim prisoner without the man’s imam present, and he decided to allow the execution of a man who claimed lethal injection would cause him severe pain due to a rare medical condition.
These decisions allude that Kavanaugh may strengthen the Court’s conservative stance on capital punishment, which the Pope has said "does not render justice to the victims, but rather fosters vengeance."
Kavanaugh was the deciding vote ruling to allow nationwide enforcement of a Trump policy allowing the detainment of immigrants for possible deportation without hearing after they have completed criminal sentences.
Pope Francis has long been outspoken against Trump’s immigration policies, noting the immigration problem in the U.S. must be “resolved differently, humanely.”
A year later, another allegation surfaces
On Sept. 14, nearly a year after Ford’s accusation, the New York Times resurrected the controversy, further detailing Ramirez’s claim and leveling a new, second-hand accusation from Max Steir, a former classmate who says he witnessed Kavanaugh exposing himself to another student.
The Times reported that “the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say she does not recall the episode.”
Kavanaugh’s second term began earlier this fall. In light of the new allegation, he will likely undergo increased scrutiny on every move he makes as a member of the country’s highest court.
Hadley Hitson is a student at the University of Mississippi studying journalism in New York this semester as part of the NYCJ program at The King’s College. She is interning this semester at Fortune magazine.