Alito says he will stay on the Court even if Democrats win the Senate
Justice Samuel Alito, 76, told Bloomberg Law he will remain on the Supreme Court even if Democrats win control of the Senate in the Nov. 3 midterms, setting aside speculation that he might retire after the election so that the Republican Senate could confirm a successor before Jan. 3. 'I made that decision many months ago,' he said, adding that he does not feel mentally or physically 'decrepit.' In August he told The Wall Street Journal he would serve at least through the current term. CNBC and Bloomberg Government carried the report Tuesday.
A retirement in a lame-duck Senate was one of the few ways a vacancy could open before 2027. Alito's statement takes that off the table for now and lowers the stakes of the Senate races for the Court in the near term.
If you vote on the Court, today's news says the next vacancy is not on this year's ballot, at least by Alito's own account.
Justices change their minds, and this one has said so before about retirement. Treat it as a statement of intent, and watch the clerk hires for the 2027 term: they are the more reliable signal.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 2 · October 6, 2026