Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the subject of intensifying speculation about a potential retirement before the midterm elections, is not expected to leave the bench this year, sources close to the justice have told ABC News.
Alito, 76, has been hiring clerks for next term and intends to continue serving into at least 2027, the sources who have spoken to Alito told ABC.
The court’s most senior member – 77-year-old conservative Justice Clarence Thomas – is also expected to remain on the bench.



That’s a roller coaster of a comment.
First you say that Chuck would probably be on board for the “McConnell rule”, and then freely admit that he would also be on board for confirming a conservative judge that he “approved of”.
Well, I don’t think you’re wrong about the second part. I also think Chuck would confirm a conservative justice, and for him the only requirement would be unconditional support for Israel, with some lip service to civil liberties, that’s it.
Because all Chuck cares about is Israel and expanding corporate power, in that order.
No, my point is that not all Conservative judges are the same. And, if you take the Constitution seriously, the President has a right to pick someone, and the Senate has a right to advise him on who they find acceptable, and their consent is a requirement. So this the way it was supposed to have worked all along.
Remember that Anthony Kennedy is a conservative, and he was nominated to the Court by Reagan. Yet, once the Court started to lurch to the Right he ended up being the swing vote. Regardless, though, he retired while Republicans could fully control his replacement.
You could argue Kennedy was a compromise choice, because the Senate was in control of Democrats at the time, and they had already rejected Robert Bork for the job. If Chuck could force a similar outcome, wouldn’t that be a good thing?