The Mainstream Media Can’t Stop Drooling Over Justice Alito Retirement Rumors

The liberal media has been praying for a Supreme Court opening since Trump won reelection.

Now they think they've found their target.

And the mainstream media can't stop drooling over Justice Alito retirement rumors in 2026.

CNN Starts the Feeding Frenzy

CNN's Joan Biskupic kicked off the latest media frenzy by reporting that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has "pondered a possible retirement."¹

The 75-year-old Alito authored the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — the liberal media's worst nightmare.

Now outlets like CNN and Raw Story are practically salivating over the possibility he might step down.

Raw Story ran a breathless piece titled "Possible retirement?" with "all eyes on Alito after decades on the bench."²

The outlet described Alito as "even grumpier than ever" and claimed he "seems even grumpier than ever" despite his conservative victories.³

Translation: They're mad he keeps winning.

The media desperately wants Alito gone before he can reshape more American law.

The Real Reason They Want Him Out

Here's what has the mainstream media in a panic.

Alito destroyed their sacred cow when he wrote that "Roe and Casey must be overruled" because "the Constitution makes no reference to abortion."⁴

That 2022 Dobbs decision ended nearly 50 years of abortion precedent.

The Left has never forgiven him for it.

But Alito's conservative wins extend far beyond abortion.

He's reversed course on racial gerrymandering cases, moving from dissent to majority opinion and granting state legislatures more power over redistricting.

When liberal Justice Elena Kagan bristled at Alito's reversal, he fired back with a separate opinion.

He couldn't just accept victory quietly — he had to make his point.

CNN complained that "his combativeness extends throughout the courtroom" because Alito grimaces, rolls his eyes, and interrupts lawyers during oral arguments.⁵

God forbid a Supreme Court justice shows some personality.

They're Resurrecting Old Scandals

The media hit pieces are dragging up every controversy they can find.

Raw Story rehashed ProPublica's 2023 story about Alito's undisclosed 2008 fishing trip to Alaska with billionaire Paul Singer.

Singer flew Alito on a private jet that could have cost more than $100,000 one way.⁶

Alito didn't report the trip on his financial disclosures.

Singer's hedge fund later came before the Supreme Court at least 10 times, and Alito never recused himself.⁷

The media also won't let go of supposedly controversial flags that flew at Alito's family properties.

When the New York Times grilled him about it, Alito responded his wife Martha-Ann, “is fond of flying flags. I am not." ⁸

The liberal press called it a scandal.

Conservatives called it his wife exercising her First Amendment rights.

What Trump's Saying About Retirement Talk

President Trump shut down the speculation during an interview with Politico.

"I hope they stay 'cause I think they're fantastic, OK?" Trump said about Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas. "Both of those men are fantastic."⁹

Trump already appointed three justices during his first term — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

If Alito retired during Trump's second term, the President would become the first since Dwight Eisenhower to appoint a majority of sitting Supreme Court justices.

That possibility has Democrats in full panic mode.

Conservative legal operative Mike Davis wrote on social media after Trump's election victory that Alito was "gleefully packing up his chambers."¹⁰

Conservative commentator Ed Whelan predicted Alito would announce his retirement in spring 2025.¹¹

But Leonard Leo from the Federalist Society slammed the retirement speculation as "crass."

"No one other than Justices Thomas and Alito knows when or if they will retire, and talking about them like meat that has reached its expiration date is unwise, uninformed, and, frankly, just crass," Leo said.¹²

The Truth About Alito's Plans

Both Alito and Thomas have hired full complements of law clerks for the next two terms through October 2026.

That typically signals a justice plans to stick around.

Sources close to Alito told the Wall Street Journal he has no plans to retire anytime soon.¹³

"Despite what some people may think, this is a man who has never thought about this job from a political perspective," a person close to Alito said.¹⁴

Alito has emerged as Trump's strongest defender on the court.

When the court temporarily blocked Trump's Venezuelan deportation plans, Alito torched the majority for issuing relief "literally in the middle of the night" without proper procedure.¹⁵

The mainstream media sees a conservative warrior who keeps delivering victories against their agenda.

That's why CNN, Raw Story, and the rest of the liberal press can't stop obsessing over retirement rumors.

They want Alito gone because he keeps beating them — and they believe the Senate will soon flip but even if he retires before then, they know RINOs like John Cornyn and Lindsey Graham will ensure Alito doesn’t get replaced with another strong conservative, but someone closer to Amy Coney Barrett or John Roberts instead.

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¹ Joan Biskupic, "Alito and Roberts take stock as they near their third decade on the bench," CNN, May 19, 2025.

² Travis Gettys, "'Possible retirement?' All eyes on Alito after decades on the bench," Raw Story, December 29, 2025.

³ Ibid.

⁴ "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization," Supreme Court of the United States, June 24, 2022.

⁵ Gettys, "'Possible retirement?'"

⁶ Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, and Alex Mierjeski, "Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer," ProPublica, June 21, 2023.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Gettys, "'Possible retirement?'"

⁹ "Justice Samuel Alito retires!? Donald Trump says…" The Horn News, December 10, 2025.

¹⁰ "Trump's election sparks retirement talk for Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor," The Hill, November 11, 2024.

¹¹ Ibid.

¹² Ibid.

¹³ "Justice Alito plans to remain on Supreme Court, resisting pressure to step aside," Fox News, November 12, 2024.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ Gettys, "'Possible retirement?'"