Alito sends MAGA’s 'circling vultures' into a rage

Many MAGA Republicans are hoping that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, now 76, will retire — thus giving President Donald Trump a chance to nominate a younger judge who, if confirmed, could serve on the High Court for the next 30 or 35 years. But Alito, so far, is sticking around. And according to Reason's Damon Root, the "circling vultures" of the far right are not happy about it.

"Do you remember the rumors that were swirling around earlier this year about the 'impending' retirement of Justice Samuel Alito from the U.S. Supreme Court?" Root writes in the libertarian-oriented Reason. "Well, if you still harbored any lingering hopes or fears of those rumors coming true in 2026, Alito himself has now put them to rest. 'Obviously, I'm here for another term,' the justice recently told The Wall Street Journal. Ironically, the idea of Alito sticking around for a little longer is probably more popular right now among progressives than it is among conservatives."

Root continues, "Remember that conservatives were the ones lobbying for Alito to step down in the first place. They have been desperate to avoid what we might call the Ruth Bader Ginsburg scenario, in which an aging justice remains on the bench so long that his or her party loses control of the White House or Senate, or both, and thus loses the ability to pick the justice's replacement. If the GOP loses control of the Senate in this year's midterm elections, those fears could be realized."

With Trump suffering from weak approval ratings in one poll after another, Democratic strategists are feeling optimistic about their chances of flipping the U.S. House of Representatives — where Republicans, under Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), have only a small majority. Democrats realize that the U.S. Senate is a heavier lift for them. But if Democrats do manage to flip the Senate on November 3 and a Democratic Senate majority is seated in January 2027, Trump would have a harder time getting SCOTUS nominees confirmed — especially someone who is far to the right.

Root recalls that progressives were calling for Justice Ginsburg's resignation "as early as 2011," when it remained to be seen whether or not then-President Barack Obama would win a second term. Now, in 2026, Root observes, Alito is facing similar pressure from MAGA Republicans.

"Ginsburg also heard the buzzing of the carrion-feeders and chose to tune out the sound," Root argues. "Perhaps this is the rare case in which Alito is truly in harmony with Ginsburg. Like her, he may be perfectly content to continue doing a job he enjoys for as long as he possibly can — which just happens to be one of the most important jobs in the country — all while ignoring the circling vultures and disappointing his supposed allies."