Justice Samuel Alito has not ruled out retiring from the Supreme Court, a possibility that could give President Donald Trump another chance to reshape the high Court as early as the next term.
Sources close to Alito say the 75-year-old justice remains undecided, according to remarks aired on a Sunday news program on December 28.
“Sources close to Justice Alito say he has not made up his mind. He, in many ways, is too young to retire. He’s 75 years old. But then, there’s the concern that he’s too old not to,” said journalist Jan Crawford.
Any decision by Alito would carry outsized political consequences.
Trump has already appointed three justices during his first term, and additional vacancies could allow him to exceed the number of Supreme Court appointments made by most presidents since World War II, who typically name two or three. The record for most appointments is tied between Franklin D. Roosevelt and George Washington, who both appointed 8.
Alito is one of the Court’s oldest members, alongside Justice Clarence Thomas, who is 77.
While Thomas has not publicly given any indication that he is contemplating retirement, Alito has privately considered retirement, according to people familiar with his thinking, though he has not signaled any urgency to step down.
Trump has publicly expressed a desire for both men to remain.
“I hope they stay, ’cause I think they’re fantastic, OK?” Trump said in an interview released on December 9.
The question of Alito’s future comes as his influence on the Court has been widely noted. Over roughly two decades, he has authored opinions that later became controlling law, including the 2022 ruling that overturned federal abortion rights. His recent dissents and concurrences have also drawn attention for their sharp tone and pointed critiques of colleagues, according to CNN.
Potential changes to the Court are not limited to Alito.
Vacancies could also arise from the wing of the Court appointed by Democratic presidents, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, adding further uncertainty to the Court’s future composition. Republicans would not pick up any seats by appointing someone to replace Alito, but they would if Trump appointed someone to replace Sotomayor, shifting the Court’s 6-3 balance to 7-2.
Alito joined the Court in 2006. He was nominated by President George W Bush to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, after withdrawing the nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers.
With the Court poised to decide cases involving executive power, voting disputes, and social policy, the timing of any retirement could reverberate well beyond Washington.
