Brett Kavanaugh worked for President George W. Bush as an associate counsel and then staff secretary in the White House. | Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Kavanaugh Confirmation Bush standing by his support of Kavanaugh

Former President George W. Bush is standing by Brett Kavanaugh even after Christine Blasey Ford delivered powerful public testimony detailing sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.

Asked if Bush still supported his former White House aide’s nomination to the high court, Freddy Ford, Bush’s chief of staff, told POLITICO on Thursday afternoon: “Yes, he does.”


Bush had previously told POLITICO last week in an exclusive statement: “Laura and I have known and respected Brett Kavanaugh for decades, and we stand by our comments the night Judge Kavanaugh was nominated.”

The former president had previously said of Kavanaugh: “He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity. He will make a superb Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Kavanaugh forcibly groped her at a party and tried to remove her clothes, that she felt he was trying to rape her, and that she feared for her life. Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegations.

In Kavanaugh’s opening testimony on Thursday, he pointed to his public service, especially in the Bush White House, and talked about how he had been at Bush’s side and traveled “all around the world” with him from Texas to the Vatican.

Bush alumni have been shocked by the scandal surrounding Kavanaugh, who was previously seen as an ideal pick for the Supreme Court, especially with his Yale College and Yale Law pedigree. Kavanaugh also faces another accusation of sexual misconduct from Deborah Ramirez when she was a freshman at Yale.

One Bush White House alum who worked with Kavanaugh, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday afternoon: “I don’t think the process was unfair, but I think the rush to ‘he is toast’ narrative that was dominating even before he even had a chance to testify was unfair. It is, like, unless she came across as an insane person, he was going to be ‘toast.’” Asked if he still supported Kavanaugh after Thursday morning, he said, “Hell yes!”

Kavanaugh worked for Bush as an associate counsel and then staff secretary in the White House, where he met his wife Ashley, who worked as Bush’s personal secretary. Kavanaugh’s wife was by his side on Thursday afternoon looking forlorn and appeared to nearly have tears in her eyes at some points.

After an unsuccessful judicial nomination in 2003, in 2006 Bush again nominated Kavanaugh to be a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate and has become a reliable conservative vote.

