By Walker Wildmon for THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Speculation about a potential retirement by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has intensified over the past two months.
It began on March 20 after the 76-year-old justice fell ill at a Federalist Society event in Philadelphia and was taken to a hospital out of caution. Talk increased when President Trump told Maria Bartiromo on April 14 in a Fox Business interview that he is prepared to nominate new justices, potentially up to three, if vacancies arise.
Mr. Trump praised Justice Alito as one of the greatest justices of all time.
Still, speculation turned to action in the Senate that same week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley publicly stated that Republicans stand ready to move quickly to confirm a replacement before the midterm elections in November.
Although critics cite anonymous sources to suggest otherwise, those claims lack substantiation and the weight of the evidence points to a vacancy sooner rather than later.
