Clarence Thomas hospitalized with 'flu-like symptoms' that are 'not COVID-related'

On Friday evening, March 18, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. — where, according to the Court’s Public Information Office, he was suffering from “flu-like symptoms.” But CNN reports that the possibility of a COVID-19 infection has been ruled out.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court told CNN, “It is not COVID-related. The justice does not have COVID.”

According to a Supreme Court press release, “He underwent tests, was diagnosed with an infection, and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics. His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two. Justice Thomas will participate in the consideration and discussion of any cases for which he is not present on the basis of the briefs, transcripts, and audio of the oral arguments.”

Now 73, the far-right Thomas is the High Court’s only remaining pre-Bill Clinton nominee. Thomas was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in late 1991 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate despite sexual harassment allegations by attorney Anita Hill.

Thomas replaced Justice Thurgood Marshall, a Lyndon B. Johnson nominee and the U.S. Supreme Court’s first Black justice. But while Marshall and Thomas were both African-American, their political and judicial views differed considerably. Marshall was a liberal, while Thomas is known for his far-right social conservatism.

Thomas’ hospitalization comes a time when the U.S. Supreme Court may, for the first time in its history, have two Black justices. President Joe Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, and if she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will be the High Court’s first Black female justice.