Justice Sotomayor Reportedly Will Not Retire — Amid Calls On the Left for Her to Step Down Before Trump Takes Office

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Despite calls from some on the Left to step aside before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor reportedly plans to remain on the bench.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the 70-year-old Sotomayor has no plans to give up her seat — despite the prospect of Trump getting to choose her replacement if she retires in the next four years.

“This is no time to lose her important voice on the court. She just turned 70 and takes better care of herself than anyone I know,” an unnamed person the Journal identified as being close to Sotomayor said.

Politico Playbook reported on behind-the-scenes discussions over the past week among Democratic senators considering the possibility of Sotomayor stepping aside and a replacement being confirmed before Trump returns to the White House and Republicans take control of the chamber.

The Sotomayor retirement talk is no doubt being partially driven by a fear of a repeat of what happened with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020. Justice Ginsburg passed away at age 87 with just four months left in Trump’s first term — which allowed him to nominate her successor, Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

There is also concern on the Left that Republican-appointed Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — both of whom are in their mid ’70s — will step down during Trump’s second term. Those moves could potentially cement a conservative majority on the Court for years to come — with as many as five of the justices being under the age of 60.