Alito, Thomas Plan to Stay on Supreme Court

Alito, Thomas Plan to Stay on Supreme Court

Retirement speculation surrounding two of the Supreme Court’s most senior conservatives collapsed Friday, with multiple outlets reporting that neither justice is planning to step down this year.

Sources close to Samuel Alito said that the 76-year-old justice is not expected to leave the bench in 2026 and intends to continue serving at least into 2027. Alito has already begun hiring clerks for the next term and remains actively engaged in the Court’s work.

Separate reporting confirmed that Alito is not stepping down this term, with multiple sources saying he has filled all four clerk positions for the upcoming cycle, even as rumors swirled about a possible retirement tied to age and timing ahead of the midterm elections.

The speculation extended beyond Alito. Sources reported that Clarence Thomas, the Court’s most senior member at 77, is also not planning to retire this year, reinforcing the stability of the Court’s current 6–3 conservative majority.

Together, the reporting shuts down expectations of a near-term vacancy and the high-stakes confirmation fight that would likely follow in a presidential election cycle already defined by tight margins and elevated political tension.

The rumors had been fueled in part by the justices’ ages, Alito’s recent hospitalization, and the strategic reality that a retirement under unified Republican control could allow for a like-minded successor to be confirmed before the midterms. That scenario now appears off the table.

President Donald Trump had publicly acknowledged the possibility of multiple vacancies earlier this week, saying he was “prepared” to appoint as many as three justices if openings emerged and praising Alito as “one of the great justices.”

“In theory, it’s two or three, they tell me — if you just read statistics — it could be two, could be three, could be one. I don’t know. I’m prepared to do it.”

Republican leadership on Capitol Hill had also signaled readiness to act quickly if circumstances changed. John Thune said the Senate GOP would be prepared to move fast on a nominee in the event of a vacancy.

“That’s a contingency I think around here you always have to be prepared for. And if that were to happen, yes, we would be prepared to confirm.”

For now, that contingency remains hypothetical.

Alito, who joined the Court in 2006, and Thomas, who has served since 1991, remain central figures in a term that is still expected to deliver major rulings on issues ranging from immigration policy to election law. Decisions in several closely watched cases are expected by early summer.

Absent a sudden shift, the Court’s composition appears set through the midterm cycle, removing what could have been one of the most consequential political flashpoints of the year.

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