For the time being, at least, President Donald Trump won't have any more Supreme Court picks to make. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, two of the Court's stalwart conservatives and constitutional originalists, have both now indicated they have no intention of retiring - at least not this year, according to one report.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the subject of intensifying speculation about a potential retirement before the midterm elections, is not expected to leave the bench this year, sources close to the justice have told ABC News.
Alito, 76, has been hiring clerks for next term and intends to continue serving into at least 2027, the sources who have spoken to Alito told ABC.
Fox News first reported the justice's intentions.
Alito has remained an active and engaged participant in the court's work, even after he was briefly hospitalized earlier this year for a health scare of undisclosed origin.
Justice Alito's health issues occurred back in March, but were only announced to the public recently. The health scare was attributed to dehydration; Justice Alito was not admitted to the hospital at the time.
Read More: Health Scare: New Report Reveals Justice Alito Was Briefly Hospitalized in March
There's No Vacancy Just Yet, But Ted Cruz and Mike Lee Are Being Floated as Possible SCOTUS Nominees
As we reported at the time, President Trump already has candidates in mind for any Supreme Court vacancies.
President Donald Trump said he is "prepared" to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices if vacancies arise, signaling he is ready to further reshape the high court as speculation swirls around a potential retirement from Justice Samuel Alito.
Trump told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, could retire and that he has a shortlist of nominees in mind, though he did not mention any names.
"In theory, it's two — you just read the statistics — it could be two, could be three, could be one," Trump said. "I don't know. I'm prepared to do it. But when you mention Alito, he is a great justice."
While Justice Alito and Justice Thomas have been influential and well-reasoned in their terms on the Court - Justice Thomas, in particular, is one of my personal heroes - there is the matter of control of the Supreme Court to consider. The Supreme Court has been the final check on any number of excesses from the left, and we should endeavor to keep it that way. Justices Alito and Thomas are both well into their 70s. There's no guarantee that the Republicans will retain the Senate in this fall's midterm elections. There's no guarantee that the Republicans will hold the White House after January 2029. We hope to, but we can't bet the ranch on it. And any future vacancies being filled by a Democrat president and a Democratic Senate? That's not something we should want to see.
Of course, the left likely won't wait for any retirements. If that happens, if in 2029 we have Democrats in the White House and the Senate, look for a spate of new Supreme Court nominations from the far left; Democrats have been talking about stacking the Court for years now, and this time they may well try it.
We do live in interesting times.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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