Justice Alito Says He Will Stay on Supreme Court Through Term Even If Democrats Win the Senate

Justice Samuel Alito said he plans to remain on the Supreme Court through the current term even if Democrats win back the Senate in the November midterm elections, according to a Bloomberg Law interview published on Tuesday. His remarks dismissed speculation that he might retire in time for President Donald Trump to name a younger successor who could be confirmed before a new Senate is seated.

“I intend to stick around through this term,” Alito said, adding that he made the decision many months ago, according to Bloomberg Law. The court’s term runs through June. Alito, 76, is the court’s second-oldest justice; Justice Clarence Thomas, 78, has also given no indication he plans to step down, and if either retired after a Democratic Senate win in November, Senate Republicans would have until Jan. 3 to confirm a replacement, according to Bloomberg Law’s reporting summarized by the Daily Caller.

Book launch and a retracted retirement story

The interview arrived on the publication day of Alito’s book, “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country,” published Oct. 6, according to USA Today. In written answers to USA Today, Alito said he was “amused and puzzled” by a June NPR report — quickly retracted — claiming he was retiring. He also told CBS News in a recent interview that at his age he weighs retirement each year, and that he decided against it this year because he believed he could still make a valuable contribution, according to USA Today.

Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2006, and he authored the court’s 2022 opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, according to USA Today. The court opened its new term this week, including arguments in a major climate lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor, with the court’s 6-3 conservative majority intact for the cases ahead.

Reporting based on coverage by Bloomberg Law, USA Today and the Daily Caller.