Brett Kavanaugh says he's hopeful the Supreme Court will take 'concrete steps' to address ethics scandals

WASHINGTON — Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled Thursday that the Supreme Court may take steps "soon" to address ethics scandals that have eroded confidence and sparked a partisan fight in Congress over whether lawmakers can force a code of ethics on the nation's highest court.

“The chief justice spoke about that in May and said that we're continuing to work on those issues, and that is accurate. We are continuing to work on those issues,” Kavanaugh told a conference of judges and lawyers in Cleveland, according to The Washington Post, CNN and others. "And I'm hopeful that there will be some concrete steps taken soon on that."

Kavanaugh's remarks were the most optimistic about potential changes at the Supreme Court since Chief Justice John Roberts told an audience in May that the ethics scandals swirling around the court were an "issue of concern" and that the justices were "continuing to look at things" to address the problem.

"We’re nine public servants that are hard working and care a lot about the court and care a lot about the judiciary as a whole," Kavanaugh said, according to The Washington Post. The justices “want that respect for the institution to be shared by the American people," he said. "To the extent that we can increase confidence, we’re working on that.”

Too late? Supreme Court silent after Thomas luxury travel raised ethics scandal

Faith in the court has tanked in recent years. An Ipsos poll last month found that half of Americans have little or no trust in the justices and that faith in the Supreme Court has slipped below that of other legal institutions, including juries, local police and state judges. Only “corporate attorneys” fared markedly worse than the high court.

Justice Clarence Thomas, in particular, has been at the center of controversy involving private jet travel and luxury vacations paid for by a Republican megadonor. But other justices − including Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Roberts himself − have been the subject of news stories in recent months that have raised ethical questions.

A Senate committee in July approved a bill that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics, but the issue has become highly partisan, and the measure is unlikely to win approval of Congress anytime soon.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kavanaugh signals Supreme Court may soon take steps on ethics scandals