Ed Whelan first became friends with Brett Kavanaugh when they were both working for the George W. Bush administration, and they have since sustained “decades-long friendship.” During Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, Whelan engaged in conspiratorial conjecture to defend Kavanaugh from rape allegations during his 2018 confirmation hearings. Whelan clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia, who also took scores of trips underwritten by wealthy Republicans. Whelan leads the Ethics and Public Policy Center, which Leonard Leo helps lead as a member of its board of directors, and which has also submitted numerous amicus briefs to the Supreme Court.