Justice Alito Reportedly Won't Retire Soon Despite Democratic Senate Win in Midterms

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, 76, has told people close to him that he does not plan to retire immediately, despite Democrats winning the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to two anonymous sources cited in reports by the New York Times and Bloomberg. Alito shared his plans with friends once the results were clear and does not intend to step down this year or before the end of the court's term. Democrats take power in the Senate in January, so Republicans will hold the chamber only briefly and may have missed the window for President Donald Trump to name a fourth or fifth justice. Newsweek reported Democrats are picking up at least seven seats, in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call. Speculation had also covered Justice Clarence Thomas, 78. Weeks earlier, Trump suggested Alito was weighing retirement, and he praised the justice on Truth Social while sharing a report saying Alito was considering it.

The New York Times, the left-leaning source, leads with Alito's private message to friends, framing it as a decision that holds despite the election result and stressing that Democrats are set to seize the Senate in January. The Daily Mail, on the right, relays the same Times reporting but adds Alito's 89 percent voting alignment with Trump, per SCOTUSblog, and Thomas's age. It also highlights Trump's Truth Social post, which it describes as an apparent effort to pressure Alito off the court. Its headline uses the phrase "blue wave" and says Democrats eye another branch of government, and it says Democrats could filibuster a nominee. Both sides agree on the core fact: Alito is staying and the Senate is flipping. They differ on emphasis, with the Times focused on the justice's plans and the Mail on Trump's role. Newsweek and Reason offer separate angles: Newsweek supplies seat counts and Garland, Gorsuch and Barrett history, while Reason says it had predicted neither Alito nor Thomas would retire this term.