Supreme Court Justice Considers Retirement

Justice Samuel Alito told CBS News he recently weighed leaving the Supreme Court and decided to stay, but that he expects to ask the question again every term.

In an interview with correspondent Jan Crawford, set for release Monday, the 76-year-old said, “I thought about it. It’s something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term. But I thought that I could still make a valuable contribution, which is why I became a justice and a judge in the first place.” Asked if he would reconsider each year, he said, “Yeah, I think I have to.”

Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush and joined the court in 2006. He is the second-oldest justice, after Clarence Thomas. CBS reported October 2 that he had decided to remain after considering whether he could still make that “valuable contribution.”

He declined to tie the choice to politics. Referring to the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020 and her replacement by Amy Coney Barrett, he said, “It’s too hard to predict what the political situation will be and what any president might do with respect to a replacement.”

Any vacancy would still need Senate confirmation. Republicans hold the majority and can confirm a nominee without Democratic votes, though the midterms could change that math. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have withheld full support for some of President Donald Trump’s past nominees. Murkowski voted “present” on Brett Kavanaugh.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in April that justices decide for themselves, and that confirmation is easier when one party holds both the Senate and the White House. Alito did not connect his answer to the midterms or to any named successor. No short list was reported.