Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has told people close to him that he does not intend to retire immediately from the Supreme Court, despite Democrats’ commanding win in Senate contests on Tuesday, which means Republicans will hold the chamber for only a short time longer. As a result, Republicans may have missed the window for President Trump to name a fourth or even a fifth justice to the Supreme Court in the final two years of his presidency.
Justice Alito shared his plans with friends after the election results were clear this week, according to two people close to the justice who spoke on the condition of anonymity. As recently as last month, Justice Alito, a forceful conservative and reliable vote in favor of Mr. Trump’s policies, had rejected the idea that he would step down if Democrats took control of the Senate.
With 35 years on the bench, if Justice Thomas were to stay through May 2028, he would set the record as the longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history. Justice Thomas, who is 78, and Justice Alito, who is 76, did not respond to requests for comment about their plans. Despite the public conversation, legal experts were largely agreed on Wednesday that a speedy retirement would be a potentially dicey and problematic proposition that was not guaranteed to secure a seat.
“No justice is going to announce in the next few days that he will be stepping down,” Mr. Whelan wrote, adding, “Justices don’t make snap decisions about retiring.”
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