Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is not expected to retire this term, multiple sources told Fox News Digital, a development that should quiet, at least for now, weeks of escalating speculation about a potential vacancy on the nation's highest court.
Alito, 76, has already hired all four law clerks for the upcoming annual term that begins in October. He is also in the process of hiring clerks for the term after that, a source said. Justices tend to hire their clerks two to three years in advance, and the hiring pattern signals no imminent departure.
The news arrives as Washington had worked itself into a frenzy over whether the George W. Bush appointee might step aside while Republicans still control the Senate and can confirm a conservative successor. That speculation was fueled by Alito's age, his two-decade tenure on the bench, and a health scare last month when he was treated for dehydration after becoming ill at a Federalist Society dinner. A Supreme Court spokesperson said at the time that Alito was "thoroughly checked" and quickly returned to the bench.
President Donald Trump, speaking with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, said he is ready to nominate new justices if openings arise. He did not single out Alito or any other justice by name as likely to retire, but he acknowledged the statistical likelihood of vacancies during his time in office.
Trump told Bartiromo:
"In theory, it's two or three, they tell me, if you just read statistics, it could be two, could be three, could be one."
Asked specifically about Alito, Trump praised the justice in warm terms.
"I don't know. I'm prepared to do it. But when you mention Alito, he is a great justice."
Trump added that Alito is "in very good physical health" and called him "one of the great justices of our time" and "an unbelievable justice." He said he has a shortlist of nominees in mind but did not disclose any names.
The president's readiness matters. Whoever fills the next seat will shape constitutional law for a generation, and the Democratic minority has already signaled it will fight any Trump nominee with every procedural tool available.
Even as sources poured cold water on the retirement talk, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill made clear they are not leaving anything to chance. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters earlier this week that his committee is "fully prepared" to process a nominee before the midterm elections if a vacancy opens.
Grassley went further, naming Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, as his top recommendations should Alito step down. That level of specificity from the chairman suggests the GOP caucus has been gaming out scenarios behind closed doors for some time.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., echoed Grassley's posture on Tuesday. As the Washington Examiner reported, Thune told reporters the Republican majority would move swiftly on a confirmation if the situation called for it.
"That's a contingency I think around here you always have to be prepared for. And if that were to happen, yes, we would be prepared to confirm."
The urgency is plain. Republicans hold the Senate now. Midterm elections loom. If the GOP were to lose its majority, a Trump nominee could face a far more hostile confirmation landscape, a scenario that has clearly sharpened minds on the Hill.
Alito retirement rumors are not new. They have circulated in conservative media circles for years. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said on his show that there was a "strong rumor" Alito would step down, as Newsmax reported. Hewitt offered a colorful theory for the speculation, saying of Alito's wife: "The buzz is his wife hates Washington, D.C., more than my wife does, which means she's a 12 on a scale of 10."
This latest round, though, carried more weight because of the March 20 health incident. Alito fell ill at a Federalist Society dinner and was treated for dehydration. The episode was previously undisclosed, and when it became public, it fed a cycle of concern about whether the 76-year-old justice could, or would want to, continue serving.
The court's spokesperson moved quickly to tamp down health worries, saying Alito was thoroughly checked and returned to the bench. Trump's own public assessment, that Alito is in "very good physical health", reinforced that message.
Justice Clarence Thomas, 77, has drawn far less retirement chatter despite being a year older than Alito. Thomas, an appointee of President George H. W. Bush, has served on the court for more than three decades and holds the record as the second-longest serving justice in history. His longevity on the bench and his well-known commitment to originalist jurisprudence appear to have insulated him from the same kind of "will he or won't he" guessing game.
The current Supreme Court term has already been marked by internal tensions and high-profile emergency appeals, making the question of who sits on the bench all the more consequential.
Hewitt noted the contrast between the two justices, saying on his radio program: "The stronger rumor is that Justice Alito is going to quit, Justice Thomas will never quit." Whether that proves true over the long run remains to be seen, but for now, the retirement watch is trained squarely on Alito.
The Supreme Court's current term runs until October. If Alito does not step down before then, as sources now indicate, the next window for retirement speculation opens at the end of the following term. By that point, the political calculus could look very different depending on midterm election results.
Trump said he could potentially fill as many as three seats during his time in office, a prospect that would further cement the court's 6-3 conservative majority. Possible replacement names that have circulated in conservative circles beyond Cruz and Lee include Ray Kethledge, David Stras, Don Willett, and Amul Thapar, though Trump himself has not publicly confirmed any shortlist.
Several open questions remain. Trump did not name specific candidates. Alito himself has said nothing publicly. And the "multiple sources" who spoke to Fox News Digital about his plans were not identified by name or role, a common practice in Washington reporting, but one that leaves room for the story to shift.
What is clear is that the stakes around the Supreme Court remain extraordinarily high. Every seat matters. Every term matters. And the Republican Senate majority, which could evaporate after the midterms, gives the current alignment a shelf life that everyone in Washington is painfully aware of.
For now, Alito is hiring clerks, not packing boxes. The retirement watch can stand down, but in this town, "not this term" is never the same thing as "not ever."
