Trump might want to 'usher' Alito into retirement: CNN analysis

Rumors have been swirling that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito might announce he is retiring at the end of this term, and while some wonder if the rumors are part of a "pressure campaign," there are valid reasons why an Alito retirement — or one by Justice Clarence Thomas — would be beneficial to President Donald Trump.

According to CNN analysis, even though Alito, 76, and Thomas, 77, are staunch conservatives, they are near the average retirement age for Supreme Court justices. There are signs Democrats might take control of the Senate after the November midterm elections. Even if Republicans keep control, the GOP's margin might shrink, making a confirmation battle difficult for any Trump nominee.

CNN notes that "even if Senate Democrats come up short in November, there could be a big difference between Trump nominating a justice with 53 Republican votes this year and trying to do so with 50 or 51 in the second half of his term."

"But the president may have other reasons, apart from the confirmability factor, to try and usher things in this direction," CNN notes.

For instance, a confirmation fight could be an election issue that Republicans could use to drive a "significantly less enthusiastic" GOP base to the polls.

"There is some thought," CNN notes, "that Democrats’ attempts to defeat Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh in the runup to the 2018 election helped the GOP win some vulnerable red-state Senate races in what was otherwise a tough election for the party."

There are other reasons.

"Given Trump’s recent disenchantment with two of his appointees who ruled against him on the tariffs case — Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch — he would likely prefer to have some cushion to choose someone he might view as more loyal," CNN notes.

But Trump’s legacy might be the more motivating factor for the almost 80-year-old president.

"Trump in his comments to Fox Business spoke about appointing someone who could serve for 40 years," CNN reports. "If he replaced even one of Alito or Thomas with someone in their 40s, for example, the average age of the conservative justices would be less than 60. If he replaced both with justices in their 40s, that average age would drop into the mid-50s."

With four or five appointments over two terms to the nation's highest court, Trump could be among the few presidents in modern history to so fully shape the Supreme Court in their image.

“In theory, it’s two or three, they tell me," Trump said of the number of possible nominations he might still be able to make.

"If you just read statistics, it could be two, could be three, could be one. I don’t know,” Trump told Fox Business, adding: “I’m prepared to do it.”