Dem
54
Ties
2
GOP
44
It is famously said: "Supreme Court justices read the newspapers." They now know Democrats got a huge mandate. Justice Samuel Alito has a choice to make now: Resign in November and hope for a quick nomination to replace him, following by an instant confirmation, or hang around for potentially 6 more years, something he doesn't want to do.
Alito previously said the election outcome would not affect his decision, but now it is abundantly clear that if he stays on past January, then he must stay at least 2 years, and in all likelihood 6 years and maybe 10 years to guarntee a Republican successor. He is 76 now and was not counting on a massive Democratic sweep which could probably mean Democratic control of the Senate for at least 6 years. The only potential Democratic loss in the Senate in 2028 is Sherrod Brown, who is merely filling in for former Ohio senator J.D. Vance until then. Two Republicans are potentially Democratic targets in 2028, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), so the Democrats are likely to hold the Senate at least until Jan. 2031. Also, although it is slightly morbid, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is 93 and while he is very good at beating Democrats, he may not be so good at beating Father Time and the incoming governor, Rob Sand, is a Democrat.
This decision is surely weighing on Alito as he understands that no Supreme Court nomination Donald Trump makes after Jan. 3, 2027 will be confirmed by the Senate. This puts Alito in a real bind.
Also, the more pro-Trump decisions the Court makes in 2027 and 2028, the more the Democrats will be motivated to pack the court in 2029 if they get the trifecta. This puts the Court in a real bind: Give Trump what he wants for two years and risk having the Court be expanded to 13 or 15 justices in 2029. Or maybe worse, like a system of picking, say, nine appellate judges to serve on the Court for 2 years, with the current justices rotated to take their places in that time. Alternatively, the justices can do what they did during the FDR administration: stop being so hostile to the president in order to forestall "reform" later on. (V)