Alito says political partisanship does not affect his decisions

Alito’s confirmation closes retirement speculation

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed Friday that he will remain on the nation’s highest court for another term, weeks after an erroneous published retirement story set off a burst of speculation about his future. “Obviously, I’m here for another term,” Alito, 76, said in an interview published in The Wall Street Journal’s editorial section.

Speculation about Alito’s future peaked in June, when a mistake by a veteran Supreme Court reporter at National Public Radio resulted in the erroneous publication of a previously prepared retirement story. The story was quickly retracted and the court confirmed it was inaccurate, but that did not stop the talk about what Alito might do.

A retirement would likely have given Republican President Donald Trump a chance to name a fourth Supreme Court justice.

In a rare interview in his chambers, Alito also discussed the state of the court, rejecting the idea that political partisanship affects his decisions. “I vote in every case the way I think the case should be decided,” he said. “If that means a high correlation with what Trump wants, fine. If it means zero correlation with what Trump wants, fine as well.”