On October 6th, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge, following a controversial confirmation by the Senate.

Kavanaugh served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit, and taught at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. He had a clean record and seemed to be qualified for the position, prior to the Senate confirmation hearing, which drew national attention.

Controversy arose over sexual assault allegations by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who claimed he assaulted her when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh immediately denied the accusations, saying, “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.” The New Yorker reports. The credibility of both Kavanaugh and Ford were called into question. On the one hand, many Republicans had an immediate distrust of Ford, who couldn’t remember all the details of that night. From the other side, Kavanaugh in particular has been reported of excessive underage drinking and attending various parties, which Democrats were quick to point out. When asked about his high school drinking habits, Kavanaugh reported, “Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I, boys and girls, yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. Drank beer.”

This was not the only time that Kavanaugh provided questionable answers to questions posed to him; in fact, he did so throughout the hearing in which both he and Dr. Ford testified. Ford displayed poise as she delivered her powerful testimony on that night in 1982, and what she claims to have happened. In contrast, Kavanaugh broke down frequently throughout his testimony, and was brought to tears when describing his high school career, as well as listing the first names of female friends he had growing up.

Ultimately, the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh on a 50-48 vote, either not finding Kavanaugh to be guilty, or simply not seeing this sort of behavior as important enough to determine whether he should serve as a Supreme Court justice. Although the Senate didn’t feel the sexual assault allegations weren’t enough to take him out of the running, through the hearings he proved he is neither emotionally stable enough or politically unbiased enough to serve on the Supreme Court. There are plenty of other qualified candidates who could have filled this position, and have a clear lack of controversy surrounding them. All in all, Kavanaugh claims the allegations were a targeted political hit against him. Regardless of whether this is true, his behavior in the wake of this situation was not appropriate, and not reflective of the behavior of a Supreme Court justice.