Alito Shuts Down Retirement Talks as Midterms Threaten GOP Path to Confirm Successor
Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito said that he will not step down if Democrats take back the Senate, according to a Bloomberg Law interview published Oct. 6.
Alito dismissed speculation that he would retire if Democrats won back the Senate after the midterm elections, which would allow President Donald Trump to appoint a younger successor confirmed before Democrats had a chance to vote down the nomination, according to Bloomberg Law.
Republicans could potentially confirm a younger successor if 76-year-old Alito or 78-year-old Clarence Thomas retired, though neither have expressed interest in leaving the court.
“I intend to stick around through this term,” Alito said. “I made that decision many months ago.”
The Senate confirmed Alito to the high court in 2006 after then-President George W. Bush nominated him.
If Alito or Thomas stepped down, Senate Republicans would have until Jan. 3 to confirm a new Trump-appointed justice in the event that Democrats win back the Senate in November. Republicans rushed the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett right before the 2020 election.
Senate Republicans blocked a vote on any consideration or vote on confirming former Attorney General Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 after then-President Barack Obama appointed him.
NPR retracted a story in June that claimed Alito was stepping down. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg said she misheard an announcement regarding retirements while leaving the Supreme Court on the final day of session. She said it was the worst professional mistake she made in her 50-year career.
Democrats were in a strong position to take back the House and Senate as of Tuesday, with RealClearPolitics’ Generic Congressional Vote showing Democrats at 50.6% and Republicans at 42.3%. More than half of registered voters, 53%, said they would vote for Democrats if the election were currently held, while 41% preferred Republicans, according to a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll from Sept. 23.
Independent voters preferred Democrats by a 25-point margin, according to the poll.
Republican political action committees (PACs) poured unprecedented amounts of money into deep red states and districts, such as Texas and Kansas. The Senate Leadership Fund, Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, paused spending in North Carolina, a battleground state, and launched a seven-figure ad campaign to prevent a Democrat from flipping Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall’s seat.
The Senate GOP campaign arm planned to pour $5 million into South Carolina to help Republican South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham, who held a slight lead against Democratic South Carolina Senate nominee Annie Andrews.
Democrats slashed spending in North Carolina since their candidate, former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, was comfortably ahead in the polls.
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