Trump Backs Alito, Thomas As Retirement Rumors Circulate
As speculation swirls inside Republican circles about the future of the U.S. Supreme Court, President Donald J. Trump is making one thing unmistakably clear: he wants Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas right where they are.
According to reporting from Fox News, a number of GOP strategists and Senate advisers have begun quietly discussing whether the party should brace for potential retirements on the high court. With the midterms looming and Senate control uncertain, some Republicans worry that a less favorable chamber could complicate confirmation of strong constitutionalist nominees.
But in an interview with Politico, President Trump dismissed the chatter and made his position unambiguous.
“I hope they stay,” Trump said. “‘Cause I think they’re fantastic.”
Behind the scenes, some establishment voices are still gaming out scenarios. Yet both justices appear unmoved.
Justice Alito, 75, has served on the Court since 2006 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. His tenure has anchored the Court’s shift toward restoring religious liberty, reigning in bloated federal agencies, and reasserting constitutional limits long ignored by the left. A source close to Alito told the Wall Street Journal that the idea of stepping down for political convenience is not even on the table.
“The idea that he’s going to retire for political considerations is not consistent with who he is,” the source said.
Justice Thomas, 77, remains the longest-serving member of the Court, having been appointed in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. His decades-long record of originalist jurisprudence has made him a bulwark for constitutional principles — and a perennial target for Democrats. Left-wing lawmakers infamously demanded his resignation in 2022, and later escalated their campaign when investigators publicized text messages from Ginni Thomas to then–White House chief of staff Mark Meadows regarding challenges to the 2020 election.
Thomas never budged. He stayed on the bench, recused from nothing, and has shown zero sign of planning an exit.
Still, some inside the GOP establishment argue that encouraging earlier retirements could ensure younger conservative nominees while the Senate remains aligned with Trump’s judicial vision. With another election cycle approaching, those conversations have grown louder.
The Court’s current conservative majority has issued several consequential rulings in recent years, and Republican strategists know maintaining that majority is crucial for the long-term defense of free speech, constitutional rights, parental authority, and limits on government power.
For now, however, Trump’s public stance appears aimed at tamping down speculation and signaling complete confidence in both justices as they head into a pivotal term featuring high-stakes cases touching on administrative authority, religious freedom, and First Amendment protections.
And on Monday, that conservative majority sent another strong signal. The Supreme Court wiped out a lower court ruling that had upheld New York’s restrictive school vaccine mandate — a policy that bars any religious exemptions — and ordered the lower courts to reconsider the case through a new lens prioritizing parental rights.
The case was brought by Amish parents who argued the state had once provided religious exemptions before eliminating them in 2019, The Washington Times reported. A federal district court and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the families’ claims. But the Supreme Court vacated the 2nd Circuit decision entirely, instructing the court to reevaluate the dispute in light of last term’s landmark ruling in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the justices rebuked schools for denying parental opt-outs from LGBTQ-related curriculum.
Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty, which represented the Amish families, celebrated the move as a significant victory for religious freedom and parental authority.
The message from the Supreme Court — and from President Trump — is unmistakable: the conservative legal movement is not retreating. Alito and Thomas remain central pillars of that effort, and for now, both appear determined to continue shaping the Court’s direction for years to come.