Justice Alito's 20-year milestone and upcoming book fuel retirement speculation
Legal scholars are reading the tea leaves on Justice Samuel Alito, and they like what they see.Two prominent law professors have pointed to a constellation of factors, including Alito's age, his recently passed 20-year tenure mark, favorable political conditions, and the curious timing of a forthcoming book, as signals that the 75-year-old justice may be preparing to step down from the Supreme Court.
To be clear: Alito has said nothing. His office has said nothing. The Supreme Court did not respond to requests for comment.
This is informed speculation, not a confirmed development. But the speculation itself is worth examining, because the logic behind it is sound, and the stakes are enormous.
The political math is simple. A retirement now, or within the next several months, gives President Trump a clean path to nominate a successor and gives the Republican Senate a clean path to confirm one. Wait too long, and that calculus could change dramatically.
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