Leonard Leo Pushes Back on Speculation about Justices Alito, Thomas Retiring

Leonard Leo, the influential legal activist who guided Donald Trump toward the selection of three conservative Supreme Court justices during his first term, is pushing back on the recent speculation that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas will retire after the president-elect is inaugurated in January.

“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,” Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society, said in a statement obtained by National Review. “Justices Thomas and Alito have given their lives to our country and our Constitution, and should be treated with more dignity and respect than they are getting from some pundits.”

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David Zimmermann

David Zimmermann was a news writer for National Review.

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Leonard Leo, the influential legal activist who guided Donald Trump toward the selection of three conservative Supreme Court justices during his first term, is pushing back on the recent speculation that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas will retire after the president-elect is inaugurated in January.

“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,” Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society, said in a statement obtained by National Review. “Justices Thomas and Alito have given their lives to our country and our Constitution, and should be treated with more dignity and respect than they are getting from some pundits.”