Justice Alito Says He Has no Plans to Retire Amid Rumors
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has put months of retirement speculation to rest, at least temporarily, confirming that he intends to remain on the nation’s highest court for another term.
Alito, 76, directly addressed his future during an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Friday, making clear that he will be on the bench when the Supreme Court begins its next term in October.
“Obviously I’m here for another term,” Alito told columnist James Taranto.
The declaration ends speculation that Alito could retire before the upcoming term and give President Donald Trump an opportunity to nominate a younger conservative successor while Republicans control both the White House and Senate.
Alito acknowledged the persistent calls for him to step aside, joking that the speculation serves as a constant reminder of his age.
“It’s like, what are those vultures doing up there? They are flying around,” Alito said.
“But it goes with life tenure,” he added.
Alito’s announcement means he intends to remain on the court throughout its upcoming session, which begins in early October and is expected to conclude in late June.
However, the justice did not rule out potentially retiring after the term concludes.
Alito’s future has attracted significant political attention because of the potential consequences of another Supreme Court vacancy during Trump’s presidency.
The court currently maintains a 6-3 conservative majority.
Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his first term: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
A retirement by Alito while Trump and Senate Republicans remain in power could provide the president with another opportunity to shape the ideological direction of the court for decades by selecting a younger conservative replacement.
For now, Alito has made clear that opportunity will not come before the next term.
Alito, one of the court’s most influential conservative members, also addressed criticism surrounding the ideological direction of his decisions.
During the court’s most recent term, he wrote significant opinions supporting several Trump administration immigration initiatives and sided with the court’s conservative majority in other major cases.
Alito rejected suggestions that Trump’s political priorities influence how he decides cases.
“I vote in every case the way I think the case should be decided,” Alito said.
“If that means a high correlation with what Trump wants, fine. If it means zero correlation with what Trump wants, fine as well,” he added.
Alito also rejected the idea that justices should deliberately balance their rulings between ideological sides to create the appearance of political neutrality.
“I think it’s wrong, it’s absolutely wrong, to say, ‘Well, you know what? I’m going to decide some cases this way and some cases the other way so that people will say, “Well, he’s objective, because sometimes he favors this side and other times he favors that side,”’” Alito said.
“I’m not going to do that,” he continued.
Instead, Alito said his responsibility is to decide each case according to what he believes the law requires and then explain his reasoning publicly, per the Conservative Brief.
“I’m going to decide them all the way that I think they should be decided,” he said.
“I explain why I’ve done it. People can agree, people can disagree.”
Questions about Alito’s future intensified earlier this year after he was briefly hospitalized following an illness at a Federalist Society dinner in Philadelphia.
CNN reported that Alito was treated for dehydration and subsequently recovered.
The justice also discussed how younger Americans perceive the Supreme Court, suggesting that some view individual justices as interchangeable with other judges who share similar ideological philosophies.
“So yeah, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, particularly if they’re not lawyers, I’m sure that’s how they see the court,” Alito said.
Alito also revealed that he no longer watches cable news, distancing himself from much of the daily political commentary surrounding the Supreme Court and its members.
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