Brett M. Kavanaugh
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and confirmed by the Senate 50–48, Brett M. Kavanaugh is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1990. He previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 50 opinions of the Court ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1965 · age 61
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2018
- Confirmed
- 50–48
- Education
- Yale College 1987 · Yale Law School 1990
- Succeeded
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | District of Columbia Circuit succeeded Laurence Hirsch Silberman | G.W. Bush (R) | 57–36 |
| 2018 | Supreme Court succeeded Anthony McLeod Kennedy | Trump (R) | 50–48 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote · District of Columbia Circuit
Nomination Confirmed 57–36 on May 26, 2006 · 109th Congress, Roll Call 159. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 57
4 D, 53 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- A. Allard(R-CO)
- George Allen(R-VA)
- Robert Bennett(R-UT)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- Samuel Brownback(R-KS)
- Jim Bunning(R-KY)
- Conrad Burns(R-MT)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Robert Byrd(D-WV)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Lincoln Chafee(R-RI)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Norm Coleman(R-MN)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Larry Craig(R-ID)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Mike DeWine(R-OH)
- Pete Domenici(R-NM)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Bill Frist(R-TN)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Judd Gregg(R-NH)
- Chuck Hagel(R-NE)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Trent Lott(R-MS)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Mel Martinez(R-FL)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Rick Santorum(R-PA)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Gordon Smith(R-OR)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Arlen Specter(R-PA)
- Ted Stevens(R-AK)
- John Sununu(R-NH)
- Jim Talent(R-MO)
- Craig Thomas(R-WY)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- George Voinovich(R-OH)
- John Warner(R-VA)
Voted against · 36
35 D, 1 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Evan Bayh(D-IN)
- Joe Biden(D-DE)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Hillary Clinton(D-NY)
- Mark Dayton(D-MN)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Byron Dorgan(D-ND)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Russ Feingold(D-WI)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- James Jeffords(I-VT)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Edward Kennedy(D-MA)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(D-CT)
- Blanche Lincoln(D-AR)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Barack Obama(D-IL)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Paul Sarbanes(D-MD)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 7
5 D, 2 R
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Elizabeth Dole(R-NC)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Ken Salazar(D-CO)
- John Thune(R-SD)
Confirmation vote · Supreme Court
Nomination Confirmed 50–48 on October 6, 2018 · 115th Congress, Roll Call 223. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 50
1 D, 49 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 48
46 D, 2 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Doug Jones(D-AL)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 2
2 R
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
Education
| Yale College | B.A. | 1987 |
| Yale Law School | J.D. | 1990 |
Opinions of the Court
Kavanaugh delivered 50 opinions of the Court in the covered window (October Term 2018 – October Term 2025). Most cited: TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez (3,213 citations).
Opinions of the Court only: the Court’s slip-opinion tables don’t list dissents or concurrences separately. Earlier opinions arrive with the bound-volume ingest. Browse all Supreme Court opinions.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Brett M. Kavanaugh?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2018.
- Was Brett M. Kavanaugh appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Brett M. Kavanaugh was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Brett M. Kavanaugh's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Brett M. Kavanaugh 50–48 on October 6, 2018.
- Which court is Brett M. Kavanaugh on?
- Brett M. Kavanaugh is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: The Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2006)
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2018)
- Slip-opinion tables (Supreme Court of the United States): opinions of the Court
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
7 years on the Supreme Court of the United States. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).