Melissa Quinn of the Washington Examiner documents what she labels the “Kavanaugh effect” on U.S. Supreme Court staff.
On his first day at work, Brett Kavanaugh … ensured that the elite group of law clerks in the Supreme Court is the most diverse in its history.
Kavanaugh’s four new clerks are all women. Additionally, of the six other clerks who worked for him as an appeals court judge and are now on the staffs of other Supreme Court justices, four more are women.
In terms of racial diversity, out of the three black clerks at the Supreme Court, one works for Kavanaugh and another previously worked for him.
With Kavanaugh’s arrival, there are 21 women among the 41 clerks — the first time there has been a majority of women. Kavanaugh’s supporters contend that the fact that eight of those 21 have clerked for him at one time or another demonstrates his commitment to women’s rights.
Conservatives have already drawn attention to Kavanaugh’s staff diversity compared to that of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the most liberal member of the court. She has had one black clerk out of more than 100 since joining the court in 1993. …
… He set to work quickly after the Senate confirmed his nomination in a 50-48 vote, hiring Kim Jackson — who is black — Shannon Grammel, Megan Lacy, and Sara Nommensen as his clerks. According to Above the Law, the four were provisionally hired before three women accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
“Women still face many barriers in the American workplace, and all of us have a responsibility to address that problem,” Kavanaugh said Monday night during a ceremonial swearing-in at the White House.
