President Donald Trump signaled that he is ready for the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy if Justice Samuel Alito steps down, even as he stressed that nobody can truly replace a jurist he called one of the greatest of all time.
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In a nearly hourlong Oval Office conversation with Breitbart News, the president reflected on the firestorm triggered earlier that day by NPR legal correspondent Nina Totenberg, who falsely reported that Alito had announced his retirement as the Court released its final opinions. According to Breitbart, NPR later retracted the story, and Totenberg issued a sweeping apology both publicly and directly to Alito before the interview took place at the White House.
The erroneous report nonetheless underscored a serious reality in Washington: several Supreme Court justices are at ages where retirement is a real possibility, and the ideological balance of the Court hangs in the balance. While Totenbergs claim that Alito had already stepped down was untrue, the 76-year-old conservative icon is widely viewed as one of three potential near-term vacancies, alongside Justice Clarence Thomas, 78, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 72, whose health has been the subject of recent speculation.
Well I think you know, if you listen to people, there are three potential vacancies for various reasons, so Im certainly prepared, Trump told Breitbart News, making clear that his team is already thinking ahead. There are a lot of great people out there who would like to have that position.
Trump pressed his interviewer on whether Totenbergs story had indeed turned out to be totally fake news, and was told that NPR had fully walked it back. The president, who has long criticized legacy media for bias and inaccuracy, treated the episode as another example of why conservatives distrust establishment outlets.
But beyond the media controversy, Trump said he had wrestled with the implications of an Alito retirement for the country and for the conservative legal movement. I actually heard that, and you have to understand youre asking the wrong guy because Im his single biggest fan, Trump said, adding, Hes fantastic. Hes one of the most incredible people that Ive ever met. Hes brilliant. Hes so solid and so respected.
Trump acknowledged that the chance to install a young conservative judge on the bench for 40 years is a very important thing for those who want to preserve constitutional originalism and limit judicial activism. Yet he insisted that even a rock-solid conservative successor could not match Alitos stature, saying the justice will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
So I was in one way privileged to be able to pick somebody that would beId love to pick a younger version of him, but there is no younger version of him, Trump said, underscoring the uniqueness of Alitos jurisprudence and character. Theres nobody that is going to be able to do what he does and do it so well. So in one way I was happy, in one way it was actually sad.
The president spoke with similar reverence about Justice Thomas, dismissing any suggestion that his retirement is imminent but recognizing his central role in anchoring the Courts conservative bloc. Trump told Breitbart News, Clarence has been a superstar too, and suggested that even contemplating successors to such figures is a mixed blessing.
They have been unbelievable, and you know, so youreits like a mixed blessing, really, Trump said, capturing the tension between the opportunity to secure the Courts rightward trajectory for decades and the loss of two towering conservative jurists. With speculation swirling and the stakes for constitutional governance as high as ever, Trumps remarks signal that his second administration is prepared for a consequential Supreme Court fight should any vacancy arise.
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