Sotomayor Issues Public Apology For ‘Hurtful Comments’ She Made About Kavanaugh

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh successfully emerged from a contentious confirmation process during President Trump’s first term, but he has continued to face criticism from the left for his generally conservative approach to interpreting law.

At least one of those critics has been sitting on the Supreme Court bench alongside him, as Breitbart reported:

Sotomayor’s criticism of Kavanaugh came while speaking at the University of Kansas School of Law on April 7. In her comments, Sotomayor did not specifically mention Kavanaugh.

“At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate,” Sotomayor said. “I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”

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During the event at the university, Sotomayor spoke about how one of her colleagues wrote that “these are only temporary stops,” Bloomberg Law reported.

“This is from a man whose parents were professionals,” Sotomayor added. “And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”

Her comments sparked significant backlash on social media:

Too late! The damage was done when she did it. Btw, she’s a vile Democrat, and it’s sad.

— Zoran Velev (@ZoranVelev) April 16, 2026

Justice Sonia Sotomayor used an appearance this week to suggest that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is an out-of-touch elitist. The comments were a disturbing departure from the tradition of collegiality and civility on the court. It was unfair and unwarranted…https://t.co/72aJImnbs7

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) April 10, 2026

She doesn't have the temperament, judicial restraint, or IQ for the highest court in the land.

— Rhetoric Facer 🇺🇸 (@John_Monahan) April 16, 2026

NBC News provided additional context regarding what it called Sotomayor’s “unusual” mea culpa:

Kavanaugh, who is white, grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, while Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the court, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, spent her childhood in a public housing project in the Bronx, New York.

In the opinion Sotomayor criticized, Kavanaugh downplayed concerns that constitutional violations were taking place during the immigration sweeps through the targeting of people without “reasonable suspicion” under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

He said, for example, that there is a large community of undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area and that they “tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work,” frequently work in construction or related jobs, and may not speak English.

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As a result, law enforcement would be likely to have reasonable suspicion to stop people in many circumstances, he added.

Here’s some additional coverage of the developments:

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