Is Samuel Alito Preparing to Disrobe? - Elie Mystal

[In It to Win It]

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/newsletter-samuel-alito-retiring/

Archived
https://archive.ph/V4KDf

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a new book coming out. It’s titled How Watching Fox News Made Me the Worst Version of Myself.

Just kidding, I don’t actually care what it’s called. (Fine. I can Google it for you. It’s called So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and the Country.) It’s my job to read such things and… I won’t read his book. They can’t make me. Life is entirely too short.

I bring it up because the book is scheduled to be released October 6, 2026. That’s a curious date. The Supreme Court starts its 2026–27 term on October 5, the first Monday of October. Alito’s book is set to drop the next day.

It sure feels like Alito doesn’t plan on having a real job the Tuesday his book launches and instead thinks he’ll be free to run around the country promoting it. By way of context, here are publication dates for the the last four sitting Supreme Court justices who released books:

Amy Coney Barrett, September 9, 2025
Neil Gorsuch, May 5, 2025
Ketanji Brown Jackson, September 4, 2024
Sonia Sotomayor, January 25, 2022 (a children’s book)
Sonia Sotomayor, September 3, 2019

It makes sense for the justices to release their books in September. You have all the attention on the upcoming term, but the justices are free to fly around the country, giving talks and doing interviews to promote their books. May also makes sense, because the court is no longer hearing cases then, just writing and editing opinions.

The justices are busy in October. Arguably too busy to sell a book.

Even if this isn’t true, in the unlikely scenario Dems retake the Senate in November you better believe he’s quitting and a replacement is being rammed through in a matter of weeks.

— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) 2026-02-06T18:43:42.359Z

[enigmania]

1. That guy makes me sick.

[Greybnk48]

2. And we should block any Republican nominee until after the NEXT presidential election.

Then expand the Supreme Court if we win the White House.

[drray23]

10. Difficult to do. This only requires 51 votes.

Nominations are not subject to the 60 vote threshold. However, if we do win the senate its a different story

[Vinca]

3. I can't imagine what kind of horror Trump might nominate. Can they be blocked until 2028?

[QueerDuck]

4. Use McConnell's "lame duck" rule... but we'd need to be the majority party.

[TommyT139]

7. John Yoo

...is my bet.

[In It to Win It]

9. I think even John Yoo is not right-wing enough for them... and honestly, maybe too old.

[madinmaryland]

14. I can imagine it would be one of his parking garage lawyers or Pam Bondi.

[leftstreet]

5. Almost didn't click this. "Alito" and "disrobe"

Phew. Fortunately no photos or anything


Great article, thanks for posting
DURec

[usonian]

6. Grok can disrobe him any day of the week.

But YUCK!

[llmart]

8. May his book release go the way of the Melania movie.

[Blue Owl]

11. Fuck that piece of shit

[calimary]

21. Well put!

Sure speaks for me!

[NNadir]

12. So what? He'll simply be replaced with another political racist hack...

..."interpreting" the Constitution as a Nazi manifesto.

[ChicagoTeamster]

13. Maybe it's an October Surprise.

[dobleremolque]

15. Someone needs to learn the difference between

"disrobe" and "de-robe."

[Mustellus]

16. But the "Originalists" provided for ....

... amendments to the Constitution. Perhaps they had a dose of humility that the current "Originalists" do not have.

[tishaLA]

17. Oh hey, Susan Collins...

remember that election you have in a couple months?

[hlthe2b]

18. Oh, Elie.. What a visual... But I'd gladly see him "depart" (voluntarily) anyway possible

[TrollBuster9090]

19. Do They Have A 'Tall' Size Robe, Big Enough To Fit Barron "Damien" Trump?

Or an extra absorbent robe to fit Kyle Rittenhouse?

They've got to find the youngest possible MAGA Judge, fast. (Or, the interest group that could pay the biggest bribe).

There are a million reasons why it would have been better to have President Harris than President Trump. But one of them would have been the pleasure of denying Alito his early retirement, and wingnut welfare payments.

[poli-junkie]

20. He'll install Loose Cannon 🤬

[patphil]

23. She's 45, and could be a SC justice for 35-40 years.

It's too horrific for me to even imagine.
I need a drink.

[patphil]

22. Worst case scenario is that Thomas and Alito are given huge payments to resign so Trump can appoint successors.

If this happens before the election this fall, Senate will approve, and we'll see two much younger justices take their places, insuring a republican court for a long time to come.
This is the worst of all possible outcomes. It would take over 40 years to get all those Trump nominees off the court.

The only other option is for the court to be expanded by 4 judges after a Democratic President is elected, and the Senate is in the hands of the Democrats.
But then, the republicans could also add a couple seats and fill them with Trump sycophants, insuring a republican court for an even longer time.

We're not in a good situation here.

[slightlv]

25. I think there's going to be a huge public

outcry for SCOTUS reform when a Democratic president is elected. We expected it thru Biden... with him even giving word to a committee to recommend changes... which turned out later on to be simply lip service to us. Don't hit me! I LIKED Biden. I definitely would have supported another term over trump, and actually think might have won. But I'm entitled to be critical to actions he did and did not take.

And there are a LOT Of us out here who feel more or less the same way. Not reforming the court was one of the worst things for us, now that trump 2.0 is in admin. There are a lot of changes that can be done; I just don't know the highs and lows of numbers for getting us there. I especially like term limits and a set, revolving case management system... one better protected than what is used in Florida. I also want to see the court expanded to take into account it's below representation numbers of population areas. More than one district for a judge to be responsible for is outrageous at this level. It must be one district-one judge, just like one person-one vote.

[niyad]

24. The visual from that headline made me glad that I had not yet eaten.

Oh well, I didn't need lunch anyway.

[WarGamer]

26. I expect the retirement after the elections... in November. Thomas too.

Trump will mint two new 40 year old right wingers before the new Senate in January.

[Lanius]

27. If the Dems take the Senate, he's retiring.

Then I predict that Thomas will retire if a Democrat wins in 2028.

[Bluetus]

28. If Republicans seriously fear losing the Senate, he will quite much sooner

so that the Republicans can ram through a replacement while they still hold the chamber.

I have always said, the best judgment of politics comes from watching what they do, not what they say. If Alito resigns by July, that tells us the Senate is seriously in play. If he doesn't resign by August, then the Guardians of Pedophiles are not worried about losing the Senate.

[EnergizedLib]

29. We are owed SCOTUS seats over what they've pulled

We should expand after we win.

[Warpy]

30. "Disrobe?" Ugh,nobody wants to see THAT

but if the OP meant "retire," I can't see that happening unless some breakaway Catholic sect is trying to bring back the Inquisition and they want someone to head that up.

After all, his rulings have been more ecclesiastical than constitutional, so there is ample cause to remove him frrom the Court, although neither party seems to have the guts to do that, so his job would seem to be sae no matter who is in the majority in Congress.

So unless he starts dressing like an Inquisitor and you can hear the thumbscrews clanking in his pockets, I doubt this story is true.