Sonia Sotomayor apologizes to Brett Kavanaugh over 'hurtful' remarks

The liberal Supreme Court justice had criticized her conservative colleague while talking about an opinion he wrote last year in an immigration case.

WASHINGTON — Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an unusual apology Wednesday for critical remarks she made about the upbringing of one of her conservative colleagues, Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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“At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate," Sotomayor said in a statement issued by the court. "I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”

She was referring to an appearance last week in which she had sharp words for an opinion Kavanaugh wrote last year relating to a decision that allowed the Trump administration to conduct broad immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area.