US Supreme Court: Justice Alito Considers Retirement Annually

October 5, 2026, 9:49 am CDT U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito poses for an official portrait Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said in excerpts of an interview released Friday he “thought about” retiring at the end the high courts last term, but he decided to continue in his role because he thought that he was making “a valuable contribution.” “It’s something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term,” Alito said in the interview scheduled to air Monday on CBS News. “But I thought that I could still make a valuable contribution, which is why I became a justice and a judge in the first place.” Alito, 76, is the second-oldest justice on the court. Justice Clarence Thomas is the oldest at 78 years old. Alitos comments come as the country prepares for the 2026 midterm elections and highlight that President Donald Trump—who built a six-member conservative supermajority in his first term—may have the opportunity to appoint at least one more justice, according to a story by the New York Times . “It’s too hard to predict how, for anybody, particularly when you reach a certain age, what your situation will be a year from now, two years from now and so forth,” Alito said in the interview. “And it’s too hard to predict what the political situation will be and what any president might do with respect to a replacement.”