Will Justice Alito Actually Retire? Here’s What We Know

WASHINGTON — As reporters across the nation scrambled to publish multiple massive Supreme Court stories on Tuesday morning, one newsroom’s error brought the news cycle to a grinding halt.

NPR mistakenly published a story claiming that the famed Justice Samuel Alito was retiring, citing a Supreme Court announcement. Within minutes, the outlet clarified that this was an error and retracted the story. The Supreme Court quickly denied that Alito was retiring. But the story’s publication prompted Washington to wonder: Is Alito pondering retirement? And how soon would that retirement come?

The justice has already chosen his clerks for the next term, a person familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire. Alito’s clerks will include Marisa Sylvester, Zach Gluckow, and Bradley Larson. This doesn’t mean that the justice cannot retire; however, Alito’s clerks could be reassigned to other justices if he decided to leave.

Court watchers have pointed to possible signs that the justice may retire in the near future, including the legacy of the historic opinion he authored deciding the fate of Roe v. Wade, and his upcoming book, set to go on sale in October 2026 (the day after the court’s next term begins), Reuters reports.

But people close to Alito have suggested that he’s not yet ready to leave the Supreme Court. Neither is Justice Clarence Thomas, for that matter.

“I don’t see Thomas or Alito retiring this term,” a person close to Thomas told The Daily Wire.

Samuel Alito (L) is sworn in as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as his wife Martha-Ann Bomgardner holds a Bible during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House February 1, 2006, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump addressed the matter in February, telling reporters, “I hope they’re going to be around a long time,” when asked about Thomas or Alito retiring. “I hope they’re going to stay healthy. They’re great people.”

If he did decide to retire while President Donald Trump is in office, Trump would choose Alito’s replacement. Trump’s past nominees to the court have prompted a firestorm from leftist activists and lawmakers, most notably over the appointment of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who were seen as the tipping point in overturning Roe v. Wade.

“The window for Trump to nominate a Supreme Court justice, ​or any federal judge, with a friendly Republican Senate could be closing by the end of this year,” Bush-era DOJ lawyer John Yoo told Reuters earlier this year.

“I think a conservative justice would want to retire during a time when an originalist would follow him or her,” he added, “and that ​is most likely with Trump as president and the Senate controlled by Republicans.”

So far, the White House hasn’t shown much appetite for a Supreme Court vacancy — though legacy media and activist groups on the Left have been chomping at the bit for such a moment.

“The White House hasn’t been publicly pressuring the justices to retire,” the source close to Thomas noted. “They’re respecting the justices’ decisions on how and when they would retire.”

If Alito actually retired, there are several possible candidates that the president could nominate in his place. One prominent option is Andy Oldham, a former Alito clerk who sits on the Fifth Circuit. Another is James Ho, a former Thomas clerk who is also from the Fifth Circuit. Emil Bove, a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has also been floated.

“One of the best things about Trump’s position right now is all his previous appeals court nominees are in great position in terms of age and time on the lower court bench,” a person close to the conservative justices shared. “It’s a deep bench.”

A White House official told The Daily Wire that they wouldn’t speculate on potential vacancies at any level, but noted: “The President is always prepared to nominate highly qualified judges who will uphold the Constitution and rule of law.”