Will Alito or Thomas retire to give Trump a lame duck Court pick?

San Francisco Chronicle · Erwin Chemerinsky · 2026-11-04 22:00 UTC

OPINION: Justices Alito or Thomas could retire from the Supreme Court, allowing President Trump to quickly find a replacement.

The crucial question for the future of the Supreme Court is whether Justices Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas will resign to allow President Donald Trump to have a successor confirmed before Democrats take control of the Senate at noon on Jan. 3.

Thomas, 78, and Alito, 76, are the oldest justices. As for the other conservative court members, Chief Justice John Roberts is 71, Brett Kavanaugh is 60, Neil Gorsuch is 58 and Amy Coney Barrett is 54, and they all could serve for another decade or more. Justice John Paul Stevens was 90 when he retired, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 87 when she died.

But with the Democrats taking control of the Senate and leadership of the Judiciary Committee, which confirms Supreme Court nominees, there certainly will be pressure on Thomas and Alito to retire immediately, conditioned on a successor being confirmed.

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