WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he plans to remain on the bench through at least the next session, batting down speculation the conservative justice intends to step down to allow President Donald Trump to choose his replacement.
“Obviously I’m here for another term,” Alito, 76, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Aug. 7
Alito, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2006, is widely considered a contender to resign during Trump's second term so conservatives can fortify their 6-3 majority on the court for the long term. A court departure would give Trump an opportunity to make a fourth Supreme Court appointment, the most since Ronald Reagan, and replace Alito with a younger conservative justice
who could serve for decades to come.
"It’s not pleasant, in the sense that it’s a reminder of mortality,” Alito said when asked about pressure from conservatives to retire so Trump can choose his successor. “It’s like, what are those vultures doing up there? They are flying around. But it goes with life tenure.”
Speculation about Alito's future on the court was stoked further when NPR mistakenly published an online story in June that claimed he was retiring.NPR retracted the story and apologized for the mistake.
The next Supreme Court term ends at the end of June 2027, meaning Alito could serve one more session and still step down while Trump remains president. But there's a possibility Democrats could take control of the Senate, which oversees the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices, in the November midterm election. A Democratic-controlled Senate would complicate the path for Trump's court appointments.
Alito has solidified himself as one of Trump's two most reliable votes on the court, consistently siding the administration. The other is conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who at 78 years old is the only sitting justice older than Alito.
Thomas, who has served on the court since 1991, is also considered a possibility to step down to allow Trump to appoint a younger conservative justice. But some court watchers believe Thomas has a desire to make history as the long-serving justice, a feat he would reach if he stays on through May 2028. He's currently served more than 34 years.
Although the conservative-leaning Supreme Court has sided with Trump on several major questions, including an expanded view of presidential power, the court dealt Trump losses this year on his attempt to invoke emergency presidential powers to issue tariffs and effort to end birthright citizenship.
Alito, in the Wall Street Journal interview, pushed back at critics who argue he's a rubber stamp for the Trump administration.
“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."
Alito added: "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 people will say he's objective.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice Alito says he's staying on Supreme Court for another term
