Topline
National Public Radio retracted a story that reported Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito would retire, insisting the story was “erroneously published” minutes after it went viral online—although speculation about the 76-year-old judge’s possible retirement has continued since he was briefly hospitalized in April.
Alito has not announced his retirement as of Tuesday morning.
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Key Facts
Alito has not announced his retirement as of Tuesday morning, and Forbes has reached out to the Supreme Court’s public information office for further comment.
Alito, a conservative justice who has served on the court since 2006, is the second-oldest justice serving on the high court, after 78-year-old fellow conservative Clarence Thomas.
Alito’s retirement would have handed President Donald Trump an empty seat to nominate a new justice months before the midterm elections, after which possible Democratic gains in Congress could limit his ability to quickly confirm a nominee.
The incorrect report came shortly after the Supreme Court handed down consequential rulings at the end of its term, including upholding state bans on transgender participation in sports, striking down limits on political spending and denying Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
Retirement Speculation Has Been Growing
Supreme Court watchers have been speculating that both Alito and Thomas could retire before Trump’s term in office ends. Republicans are hoping to avoid either septuagenarian dying during a Democratic president’s term in office—similar to what happened after former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in 2020, which allowed Trump to nominate Justice Amy Coney Barrett and expand the high court’s conservative majority to 6-3. Speculation that Alito might hang up his robes soon ramped up after he was briefly hospitalized following a Federalist Society dinner in April. Alito was “administered fluids for dehydration,” a Supreme Court spokesperson told SCOTUSblog one day later, and returned to work the next Monday. Despite the brief health scare, sources told multiple outlets later in April that neither justice was planning to retire in 2026. Ed Whelan, a conservative legal scholar, initially predicted after Trump’s 2024 electoral victory that both Alito and Thomas would retire in spring 2025, but walked that prediction back this year. Whelan told the New York Times in April that Alito was now “in the majority in a way that he couldn’t count on in his first dozen years,” and likely looked forward to ruling on major cases.
Key Background
Tuesday’s false report on Alito’s retirement was written by Nina Totenberg, NPR’s veteran legal correspondent and Supreme Court reporter, who has worked for the broadcaster since 1975. Totenberg has broken countless stories about the high court, including reporting on the sexual harassment allegations from Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas’ fraught Senate confirmation in 1991. In a statement sent to Forbes, NPR’s editor-in-chief Thomas Evans said Totenberg “incorrectly reported” Alito’s retirement and the story was removed “as soon as the error was realized.” NPR also issued an on-air correction, and Evans said Totenberg would appear on “All Things Considered” this afternoon to explain the situation. Totenberg also apologized to Alito, Evans said.
Zachary Folk
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