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Justice Samuel Alito, 76, told Bloomberg he intends to remain on the Supreme Court through the current term, which ends in late June or early July. That rules out a retirement during the post-election lame-duck session, whatever happens to Senate control in November.
On Oct. 6, Bloomberg reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, 76, plans to stay on the court through at least next summer, even if Democrats win back the Senate in the November midterm election.
“I intend to stick around through this term.”
Alito gave that statement to Bloomberg, according to a CNBC report. The court’s term began Oct. 5 and will end in late June or early July.
Alito also said the decision is not new. “I made that decision many months ago,” he told Bloomberg, per CNBC.
Lame-duck session ruled out
Bloomberg reported that Alito has ruled out retiring during the short lame-duck session of Congress after the election. Republicans would still hold the Senate majority until early January, even if they lose control of the next Congress.
According to CNBC, a Supreme Court nominee made by President Donald Trump, a Republican, could be blocked by Democrats if they win control of the majority in the next Congress.
Retirement had crossed his mind
According to Bloomberg, Alito acknowledged in the interview that retirement had crossed his mind. He also said, “I don’t feel mentally or physically decrepit.”
In a recent CBS News interview, Alito said he considered retiring this year. “It’s something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term,” he told CBS.
His first book, “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court and Our Country,” has just been published, CNBC reported.
The court’s makeup
President George W. Bush, a Republican, nominated Alito in 2005. He is one of six conservatives on the nine-member court, according to CNBC. Three of the others were nominated by Trump: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Senate history behind the stakes
CNBC noted that Senate Democrats are still stung by what happened in 2016. Then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the Senate from considering President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland. McConnell said there was not enough time, because the nomination came in March.
According to CNBC, that obstruction made it possible for Trump to nominate Gorsuch once he took office as president.
CNBC also reported that after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020, McConnell orchestrated the swift confirmation of Barrett shortly before that year’s presidential election.
The reports did not say whether Alito has set a retirement date beyond this term.
What it means for you
- Alito has said he will serve through the current term, which ends in late June or early July, so no vacancy from him is expected before then.
- He has ruled out retiring in the lame-duck session after the November midterms, when Republicans still hold the Senate through early January.
- If Democrats take the Senate majority in the next Congress, CNBC reported they may block any Trump Supreme Court nominee.
- The court keeps its six-justice conservative majority for now.