In his first term, President Trump made three Supreme Court picks that cemented a 6-3 conservative majority.
Trump was anticipating another bite at the apple in his second term.
And all hell broke loose after this Supreme Court retirement announcement.
President Trump increased speculation that there could be a Supreme Court vacancy this summer when he told Fox News Channel’s Maria Bartiromo that he believed two or three justices could retire, and also name-checked conservative stalwart Samuel Alito as the justice most likely to step down.
“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,” Trump stated. “I don’t know. I’m prepared to do it. But when you mention Alito, he is a great justice.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also raised expectations about an impending retirement by telling reporters that the Republican controlled Senate was prepared to confirm a Supreme Court nominee ahead of the midterm election.
“That’s a contingency, I think, that you always have to be prepared for. And if that were to happen, yes, we would be prepared to confirm,” Thune stated.
Much of the retirement speculation centered around the 76-year-old Alito, who has served on the bench for 20 years since President George W. Bush nominated him in 2005 to replace liberal Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Many in Washington speculated that Alito would retire this summer to allow a Republican Senate to choose a conservative successor.
But Alito is staying on the bench.
Fox News reported Alito “is not stepping down this term and is in the process of hiring the rest of his clerks for the next term.”
CBS’s well-sourced reporter Jan Crawford confirmed that both Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas are not retiring this term.
“BREAKING: Justice Samuel Alito NOT retiring. Sources close to Justice Alito confirm the Fox News report that he has decided not to step down this year,” Crawford wrote on X.
“In addition, sources close to Justice Thomas tell me he’s not retiring. That indicates that this year, with the midterms on the horizon, Trump will not be making his 4th nomination to SCOTUS,” Crawford added.
Some conservatives worried that Thomas and Alito are playing with fire.
Polls show control of the Senate is a toss-up.
In 2018, Senate Republicans bucked the blue wave that swept Democrats into power in the House of Representatives as the confirmation fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination and the ensuing hoax allegations of sexual assault galvanized the GOP base and independents to allow Republicans to gain two Senate seats.
Conservatives worry that if Democrats win the Senate in 2026, Chuck Schumer will blockade all Supreme Court picks in the hopes Democrats win the Presidency in 2028 and can flip the court back to the left by confirming leftist replacements for Alito and Thomas, who would be in their late 80s at the end of a Democrat Presidency.
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