Brett Kavanaugh ascended to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday over the widespread objections of women across the country — and one of his first actions was to install an all-female staff.

Kavanaugh’s four law clerks on the Supreme Court are all women, the New York Times reported Sunday, which is a first for the high court. Women also now make up the majority of Supreme Court law clerks for the first time in the court’s history.

Kavanaugh’s hiring decision follows through on a statement he made during his second Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in which he testified on allegations of sexual assault against him by professor Christine Blasey Ford. Kavanaugh pointed to his record of hiring female law clerks to defend his respect of women, noting that of the law clerks he had provisionally hired to work for him on the Supreme Court, “all four are women.”

The law clerks include one former clerk of Kavanaugh’s from the D.C. Circuit Court, Kim Jackson, and Shannon Grammel and Megan Lacy, who previously clerked for other appeals court justices. The fourth clerk, Sara Nommensen, is a former student of Kavanaugh’s from Harvard Law School who previously worked at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel.

According to the National Law Journal, Kavanaugh hired 25 women and 23 men while serving as an appeals court judge on the D.C. Circuit. Eighteen of his former female law clerks signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Kavanaugh’s confirmation in July.

Most of Kavanaugh’s female law clerks continued to support the judge after allegations of sexual m m. Three former law clerks — one of whom is a woman who signed the initial letter — signed a subsequent letter saying they were “deeply troubled” by the allegations and supported an FBI investigation.

10 PHOTOS Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice as protesters rally See Gallery Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice as protesters rally Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts as Kavanaugh's wife Ashley holds the family bible and his daughters Liza and Margaret look on in a handout photo provided by the U.S. Supreme Court taken at the Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 6: In this handout photo provided by the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, (Retired) administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his wife Ashley Kavanaugh holds the Bible while joined by their daughters Margaret and Liza, in the Justices Conference Room at the Supreme Court Building on October 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Fred Schilling/Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images) A protester sits on the lap of "Lady Justice" on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as demonstrators storm the steps and doors of the Supreme Court while Judge Brett Kavanaugh is being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Demonstrators protest in the street behind the U.S. Supreme Court building as they wait for Justice Brett Kavanaugh to depart after he was sworn in as an Associate Justice in ceremonies at the court on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Demostrators chant ion front of the locked doors at the top of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building while Judge Brett Kavanaugh is being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Protesters overrun the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan A man prays amidst protesters demonstrating on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in inside in Washington, U.S. October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Protester in support of and against the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh demonstrate on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as Judge Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Annabella Helman of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Olivia McAuliffe of McLean, Virginia join hands as protesters overrun the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan A protester stands on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building in front of police after they cleared the steps of demonstrators while Judge Brett Kavanaugh was being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Kavanaugh’s history of hiring female law clerks was also complicated by a report in the Guardian alleging Yale Law School professor Amy Chua advised female law students who wanted to work for Kavanaugh on their physical appearance, saying it was “‘not an accident’ that Kavanaugh’s female law clerks ‘looked like models.’” Chua denied the report, saying in a statement to the Guardian that Kavanaugh “only hires those who are extraordinarily qualified.”

Kavanaugh’s hiring choice come after his contentious Supreme Court confirmation that was overwhelmingly opposed by women; polls released in late September showed only 26% of women supported the confirmation, including less than half of Republican women. Ford’s allegations and the ensuing public scrutiny inspired women across the country to sharetheirownstories of sexual assault, and many women reported feeling personallyvictimized by Kavanaugh’s confirmation and the willingness of predominantly Republican lawmakers to overlook the attempted rape allegation against him.

Women also opposed Kavanaugh’s nomination even before the sexual misconduct charges emerged, believing he will provide the deciding vote to weaken reproductive rights and perhaps overturn the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade, as well as affect such other issues as LGBTQ rights and women’s economic stability.

“I applaud in general a commitment to hiring a diverse group of clerks, and hope all the justices encourage applicants of color, women and those with backgrounds beyond the usual elite,” Constitutional Accountability Center president Elizabeth B. Wydra told the Times about Kavanaugh’s hiring decision.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot more than female clerks to undo the damage to the legitimacy of the court done by this travesty of a confirmation process. Women will feel much more confident in the court when their fundamental rights are protected and their equal dignity is respected in the rulings handed down by the justices.”

More from :

Tamir Rice’s mom to lead a protest in Ohio town where police officer who killed her son was hired

Taylor Swift faces conservative backlash — and other news of the day

