Brett Kavanaugh
A conservative jurist whose path to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court was marked by one of the most contentious confirmation hearings in modern history.
Born 1965 (age 61)·US Supreme Court justice since 2018·Birthday: February 12·Generation X
Biography
Brett Kavanaugh's career is a study in establishment Republican legal credentials, culminating in a volcanic ascent to the nation's highest court. A Yale Law graduate, he built his reputation in the trenches of partisan politics, serving on Kenneth Starr's team during the investigation of President Bill Clinton and later in the White House of George W. Bush. His 2006 appointment to the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was a long-held stepping stone. In 2018, President Donald Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court. His confirmation process erupted when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. His defiant, emotional rebuttal before the Senate Judiciary Committee became a defining cultural moment. Ultimately confirmed by a narrow margin, he now shapes American law from a solidly conservative position, his tenure forever linked to the fierce battle that placed him there.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Brett was born in 1965, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Brett Was Born
The biggest hits of 1965
#1 Movie
The Sound of Music
Best Picture
The Sound of Music
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Brett's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1965Born
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1970Started school
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1978Became a teenager
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Could drive
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1983Could vote
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Turned 21
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1995Turned 30
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 40
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 50
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 60
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 61 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in October 2018.
- Served as a judge on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for over 12 years.
- Served as White House Staff Secretary for President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006.
Did You Know?
He was a ticket-taker at Washington D.C.'s RFK Stadium for Washington Redskins games during high school.
He taught constitutional law at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.
He has been a longtime coach of his daughters' basketball teams.
“I testified with five words: 'I did not do it.'”
