Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas Have No Plans To Retire Before Midterms: Reports

Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas Have No Plans To Retire Before Midterms: Reports
Source: HuffPost

The reports likely close any window Trump would've had to nominate a fourth justice to the high court before the midterm elections in November.

Amid swirling rumors of potential exits from the Supreme Court -- and recent comments made by President Donald Trump -- sources close to Justices Samuel Alito, 76, and Clarence Thomas, 77, told CBS News they have no plans to retire this year.

The news of Alito's intention to stay was first reported by Fox News.

Speculation about potential upcoming vacancies was heightened after Trump told Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo earlier this week that he was "prepared" to nominate "two or three" justices, if any vacancies were to open up during his tenure.

"I don't know. It's possible, you know. In theory, it's two or three, they tell me," Trump said. "If you just read statistics, it could be two, could be three, could be one. I don't know."

Trump filled three Supreme Court vacancies during his first term, nominating Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Were Republicans to lose control of the Senate in the upcoming midterms, the possibility of Trump securing a fourth nomination would virtually drop to zero.

Alito has served on the bench since 2006, and Thomas since 1991.

Rumors of Alito's retirement ran rampant earlier this month after CNN reported that the justice was hospitalized in March after attending a Federalist Society dinner in Philadelphia.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed the hospitalization to CNN.

"On the evening of Friday, March 20, Justice Alito felt ill during an event in Philadelphia. Out of an abundance of caution, he agreed with his security detail's recommendation to see a physician before the three-hour drive home. After that examination and the administration of fluids for dehydration, he returned home that night, as previously planned," McCabe said in a statement to the outlet.
"Justice Alito was thoroughly checked by his own physician, and he returned to work the following Monday for oral argument," the statement continued.

Alito and Thomas have been bulwarks for conservative causes, particularly since Trump's ascent to power, voting with him in cases where other conservatives, including his own nominees, have gone against him.

Most recently, in the case of Trump's sweeping tariffs, Alito and Thomas dissented -- while other conservative justices, John Roberts, Barrett and Gorsuch joined the three liberal justices in the majority to rule that the president overstepped his authority when he implemented the import taxes without congressional approval.