Key facts
- Democrats are poised to hold at least 54 Senate seats from January 3, 2027, per Bloomberg Law.
- Alito, 76, ruled out retiring after the election in a September 30 interview, saying he intends to stay through the term.
- Two former law clerks close to Thomas, 78, said they would be surprised if he stepped down.
- Trump has named three Supreme Court justices, creating a six-justice conservative majority.
President Donald Trump probably has appointed his last US Supreme Court justice, Bloomberg Law reported on November 4, 2026, because Democrats are poised to hold at least 54 Senate seats starting January 3, 2027. The party would then have the votes and the motive to block any vacancy Trump tried to fill over the following two years.
Republicans had been quietly watching the seats of Justices Clarence Thomas, 78, and Samuel Alito, 76, the court's oldest members and most consistent Trump supporters. A retirement by either over the past two years would have let Trump name a like-minded successor who could serve for decades. No sign has emerged that either would retire mid-term before Democrats take control.
"Chance of confirming a worthy successor to Justice Thomas and/or Alito during President Trump's term: Zero," Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said in a social media post on Tuesday night.
Alito ruled out a post-election retirement in a September 30 interview. "I intend to stick around through this term," he said, referring to the nine-month session that runs through June. Asked whether that was a firm no to announcing a retirement after the election, he replied, "Yeah." Two people close to Thomas, both former law clerks granted anonymity, said they would be surprised if he stepped down. Alito and Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conservative commentator Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center wrote in a blog post that there would be no Supreme Court confirmation in the lame-duck period before January 3, 2027, and that no justice makes snap retirement decisions.
Trump has named three justices, creating the conservative supermajority that overturned abortion rights, expanded gun and religious freedoms and broadly shielded the president from criminal prosecution. Republicans blocked a vote on Democratic nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 for 14 months before Trump filled the seat with Neil Gorsuch, and confirmed Amy Coney Barrett eight days before Trump lost the 2020 election.