Kavanaugh touts 'great relations' among justices on divided Supreme Court
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in a speech at Notre Dame that believes the Supreme Court is not as divided as members of the public might think.
WASHINGTON — Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the Supreme Court is not as divided as members of the public might think, praising his liberal colleagues and highlighting rulings in which the justices were not divided along ideological lines in a recent public appearance.
Kavanaugh spoke at an event at Notre Dame Law school this week, a video of which was made public Thursday, amid a debate about whether the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is in danger of losing its legitimacy by moving sharply to the right.
The court in its previous term, which ended in June, faced sharp criticism for several rulings, most notably the decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent, which found that there was a constitutional right to abortion.
"There are great relations among all nine justices both personally and professionally. We only get tough cases, and we disagree on some of those. I think that's more nuanced than it is sometimes portrayed," he said.
Kavanaugh had special praise for the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the recently retired liberal Justice Stephen Breyer and Breyer’s successor, the liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying she “has hit the ground running" and is "thoroughly prepared."
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