Justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh received the positive diagnosis on Thursday night, four days before the Supreme Court is slated to return for in-person sessions on Monday, October 4.
The justice has been fully vaccinated since January and is reportedly not currently displaying symptoms. Kavanaugh and the other members of the high court received routine Covid tests on Monday, all of which returned negative. After more than a year of virtual proceedings, it is unclear how Kavanaugh’s diagnosis will affect the in-person start of the term on Monday.
Read the court’s full statement here:
On Thursday, per the Court’s regular testing protocols, Justice Kavanaugh had a routine Covid test ahead of Justice Barrett’s investiture on Friday. On Thursday evening, Justice Kavanaugh was informed that he had tested positive for Covid-19. He has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January. Per current Court testing protocols, all of the Justices were tested Monday morning prior to conference, and all tested negative, including Justice Kavanaugh. Justice Kavanaugh’s wife and daughters are also fully vaccinated, and they tested negative on Thursday. As a precaution, Justice and Mrs. Kavanaugh will not attend Justice Barrett’s investiture this morning.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
