Trump: ‘Prepared’ to nominate new Supreme Court justice if Alito, Thomas retire

President Trump said he is “prepared” to name another justice to the Supreme Court if one of the older members retires.

No justice has suggested that they would be stepping down from their lifetime appointments, but there has been speculation surrounding Justice Samuel Alito, 76, who was hospitalized in March.

“It could be two, could be three, could be one. I don’t know — I’m prepared to do it,” he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Wednesday.

Trump praised Justice Alito, calling him “one of the great justices of all time.”

“Justice Alito is an unbelievable justice and a brilliant justice and he gets the country,” Trump said. “He does what’s right for the country.”

Justice Clarence Thomas, 77, is another conservative justice to watch, though there has been less speculation about his retirement.

Trump said he has a shortlist of people he would nominate to the Supreme Court but added that he was not sure there would be an opening by the end of the year.

The president has reportedly been interested in naming Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to the court.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday that the GOP would be prepared to confirm a Supreme Court vacancy if one opened before the midterms, according to Politico.

It would be ideal for the administration to get its Supreme Court pick in before the midterms while Republicans still maintain the Senate.

Trump pointed to former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg as a cautionary tale of justices who held their seat despite their age.

Justice Ginsberg was urged to step down during the second Obama administration while Democrats controlled the Senate, but declined to do so. She died in 2020 at age 87, at the end of Trump’s first term, allowing him to nominate conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett to fill her seat and cement a conservative majority on the High Court.

“She decided that she was going to live forever, and about two minutes after the election, she went out and I got to appoint somebody,” Trump said of Justice Ginsberg. “So, you know, you make the case that at a certain time you give it up… so that your ideology, your policies, your everything, would be of the kind that we like.”

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