Justice Alito Not Planning to Retire Before Democrats Take Senate

Justice Samuel Alito has told people close to him that he does not intend to retire from the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, The New York Times reported Wednesday evening. Bloomberg News separately reported, citing a person who spoke with the justice, that Tuesday’s Democratic sweep did not change his plans to remain on the bench when the new Congress takes office.

The decision matters for the Senate calendar. Republicans control the chamber only until Jan. 3, when Democrats are set to take over with at least 54 seats, according to Bloomberg. A retirement announced now would have given President Donald Trump a short lame-duck window to nominate and confirm a younger conservative. The Times reported that Republicans may have missed the chance for Trump to name a fourth justice.

Alito’s earlier comments

Alito, 76, the court’s oldest member after Justice Clarence Thomas, had already signaled his plans. “I intend to stick around through this term,” he told Bloomberg in a Sept. 30 interview, referring to the session that runs through June. Asked whether that was a firm no to stepping down after the election, he answered, “Yeah.”

Thomas and the confirmation math

Two former Thomas clerks told Bloomberg they would be shocked if the 78-year-old justice stepped down. Neither Alito nor Thomas immediately responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. Some Trump supporters had urged both justices online to resign at once so a successor could be pushed through the outgoing Senate, USA Today reported.

With Democrats in control of the Senate from January, any vacancy in Trump’s final two years would need approval from a chamber run by the opposing party.

Sources: The New York Times, Bloomberg News, USA Today.