Who Is Brett Kavanaugh's Wife? New Details On Ashley Estes Kavanaugh
The woman behind the man President Trump nominated to the Supreme Court.
With Justice Kennedy set to retire at the end of July, President Trump has officially nominated a judge to take his place, fundamentally altering the nation’s top court for decades to come. And on Monday, July 9th, Trump announced that he nominated judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh currently serves as a judge in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and he’s also a former White House Staff Secretary, a lawyer, and a law clerk. But who is Brett Kavanaugh's wife?
Because we’re all wondering just what kind of family life this nominee has, here are 6 things to know about his wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh.
1. She’s a Texas native.
Estes was born in Abilene, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997. Her husband has nothing but good things to say about her, commenting, “My wife Ashley is a West Texan. She has been a great wife and an inspiring mom. I thank God every day for my family.”
2. She was George W. Bush’s personal secretary.
Photo: Getty
From 2001 to 2005, she worked in the White House as his personal secretary, but she was also Bush’s personal assistant from 1996 to 1999 while he was the governor of Texas. Estes was the personal assistant for the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign from 1996 to 2000. She and her husband are incredibly close with the Bushes that they even attended their wedding!
3. She’s a town manager.
Though it’s technically a municipality, Estes manages the small community of The Village of Chevy Chase Section 5 in Maryland. The village is comprised of 227 houses and one restaurant. Her position is non-partisan, as she was appointed by the Town Council.
4. She met Brett in the White House.
Both she and her now-husband were working for the Bushes in 2001 when they met. But their first date was one they will always remember as it took place just a day before September 11, 2001.
“We met in 2001 when we both worked at the White House. Our first date was on September 10th. The next morning, I was a few steps behind her when the Secret Service shouted at all of us to sprint out the front steps of the White House because there was an inbound plane. In the difficult weeks that followed, Ashley was a source of strength, for President Bush, for everyone in this building,” Kavanaugh said.
5. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush attended their wedding.
When the couple got married in 2004, the Bushes were just a few of the guests. Their wedding was also featured in a column called “Weddings of the Rich and Famous,” published in The Washingtonian.
And according to their wedding planner, “It was the only wedding in the hundreds I have planned where all of the guests were in their seats 15 minutes early. There’s no lollygagging when Secret Service are holding machine guns outside of the church.”
6. She and her husband have two daughters.
The couple has two children, Margaret and Liza. Margaret was born just 13 months after they married, and Liza followed soon after. In his nomination speech, he spoke very highly about his children and their affinity for sports.
“I have two spirited daughters, Margaret and Liza. Margaret loves sports and she loves to read. Liza loves sports and she loves to talk,” he said, then giving his younger daughter a high-five.
Samantha Maffucci is an associate editor for YourTango. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.