WASHINGTON — Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, just days before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hold in-person arguments for the first time in 19 months.
Kavanaugh, 56, who learned of the test results Thursday night, has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January, the Supreme Court said in a news release. His wife and daughters tested negative on Thursday.
The court said that “as a precaution,” Kavanaugh and his wife aren’t attending a formal investiture ceremony at the court Friday for the newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
The statement didn’t mention Kavanaugh’s plans for Monday, when the court will open its nine-month term with arguments in two cases, or say how he might participate if he can’t attend in person. The court is planning to livestream the audio from the arguments, which will be closed to the public with limited press attendance.
Kavanaugh is the first sitting justice known to have tested positive for COVID-19, although The Washington Post reported that Barrett tested positive before she joined the court. All nine justices have been fully vaccinated.
The Supreme Court said Kavanaugh and the other justices all tested negative Monday before they met for a private conference to discuss pending appeals.
Kavanaugh’s colleagues include several whose age or health status might make them especially vulnerable should they become infected with the virus. They include Stephen Breyer, 83; Clarence Thomas, 73; Samuel Alito, 71; and Sonia Sotomayor, 67, who has had diabetes since she was a child.
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