The conservative justice has informed his inner circle that he will not step down at the end of the current term, citing a heavy remaining docket of established laws he has yet to personally dismantle.
Justice Samuel Alito has informed his inner circle that he will not step down from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term, citing a heavy remaining docket of federal agencies, established civil rights, and modern societal norms he has yet to strike down.
According to three sources familiar with the justice’s thinking, Alito believes his work rolling back reproductive freedoms and gutting the administrative state is only halfway done. A senior aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal court dynamics, noted that the 74-year-old justice feels an acute responsibility to remain on the bench until the Commerce Clause is formally excised from the U.S. Constitution and replaced with a blank sheet of paper.
The Justice has made it clear on background that he simply cannot hand over his seat while the executive branch still possesses the authority to inspect poultry.
Court watchers noted that Alito’s insistence on staying through the upcoming Senate transition aligns seamlessly with his recent opinions, which have increasingly relied on witch-trial precedents and the localized neighborhood grievances of his wife. Internal docket memos suggest the justice is currently preparing a sweeping shadow-docket ruling that would retroactively declare the New Deal an unconstitutional overreach, a project he reportedly wishes to finish before any new confirmation hearings could complicate his legacy.
Reaching out for comment on the timeline of his eventual departure, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court declined to speak on the record, instead directing reporters to an Appeal to Heaven flag currently flying upside-down above the justice's Virginia property.