One of the country’s most liberal news organizations on Tuesday retracted a report about the supposed retirement of of the Supreme Court’s most prominent conservatives.
As headlines swirled about decisions released on the last day of the Supreme Court’s term, National Public Radio published an article claiming Justice Samuel Alito was stepping down.
It wasn’t long before NPR was taking it back.
“Editor’s note: Earlier today, we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring,” the network anounced.
According to The Washington Post, an article about Alito’s retirement was published on NPR’s homepage briefly before being taken down and replaced with the unsigned “Editor’s note.”
Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed the NPR error in a statement, according to the newspaper.
“Neither Alito nor the court’s public information office has announced his retirement, and we have retracted the story,” she told reporters.
Do you think there’s more to this story than just NPR incompetence?
JUST IN: #SCOTUS spokesperson knocks down withdrawn NPR report that Alito has retired. “NPR’s reporting regarding Justice Alito is inaccurate. And their reporting that there was any kind of court statement is inaccurate.” — Patricia McCabe, Supreme Court spokesperson
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) June 30, 2026
NPR top editor Thomas Evans said Alito received an apology, according to Fox News.
“Due to a misunderstanding, NPR’s Supreme Court and Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg incorrectly reported that Justice Samuel Alito had retired. Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement,” Evans said
“As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR’s website and an on-air correction was broadcast. We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused,” Evans said.
“This afternoon, Mrs. Totenberg will appear on ‘All Things Considered’ to explain what happened. She has reached out to Justice Alito to apologize,” he said.
Oh boy. NPR reported that Justice Alito was retiring, then retracted it 10 minutes later, saying it was “published in error.” pic.twitter.com/ljqd9udn9a
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 30, 2026
Alito, 76, has been on the high court bench for two decades, establishing himself as one of its most reliable conservatives — and the author of the landmark Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Speculation that the justice nominated in 2005 by then-President George W. Bush could retire has some roots in speculation that retirement might be timed to ensure that Alito leaves while Republicans have a Senate majority and President Donald Trump could nominate a conservative replacement.
CBS reported in April that speculation increases from time to time about the possible retirement of Justice Clarence Thomas, 77, who has been on the bench since 1991.
Thomas has no imminent plans to go, the report said.
CBS noted that President Donald Trump said he is “prepared” to name two or three new justices if anyone retires.
“In theory, it’s two — you just read the statistics — it could be two, could be three, could be one,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “I don’t know. I’m prepared to do it.”
He noted, “when you mention Alito, he is a great justice.”
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