Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
Absent an acute health crisis, a decision to retire in the next several months would appear, and would in fact be, so nakedly political that I doubt Justice Alito or Thomas would take it.
— Michael Dorf, a Cornell Law School professor, speaking to Reuters about the retirement speculation swirling around Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. The speculation has taken on new urgency after Democrats’ midterm victory put them on track to take control of the Senate in January, giving them the power to block President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Alito, 76, has said he intends to stay through the current Supreme Court term; Thomas is 78. Both are members of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, and neither has publicly indicated plans to retire (although Alito has dropped some hints). If Republicans cannot regain the Senate for years, Thomas would be 84 and Alito 82 by the time a Republican president might again have a Senate majority. As Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center put it, “Given the deep hole, that might not happen until 2033.”
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
The post Retirement Talk For Alito And Thomas Gets Awkward After Democrats’ Senate Win appeared first on Above the Law.
Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
Absent an acute health crisis, a decision to retire in the next several months would appear, and would in fact be, so nakedly political that I doubt Justice Alito or Thomas would take it.
— Michael Dorf, a Cornell Law School professor, speaking to Reuters about the retirement speculation swirling around Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. The speculation has taken on new urgency after Democrats’ midterm victory put them on track to take control of the Senate in January, giving them the power to block President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Alito, 76, has said he intends to stay through the current Supreme Court term; Thomas is 78. Both are members of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, and neither has publicly indicated plans to retire (although Alito has dropped some hints). If Republicans cannot regain the Senate for years, Thomas would be 84 and Alito 82 by the time a Republican president might again have a Senate majority. As Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center put it, “Given the deep hole, that might not happen until 2033.”
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
The post Retirement Talk For Alito And Thomas Gets Awkward After Democrats’ Senate Win appeared first on Above the Law.
