November 10, 2024
WASHINGTON—Justice Sonia Sotomayor has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court despite appeals from some liberal activists to step down before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Sotomayor, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, is a key voice within the court’s liberal minority and, according to those close to her, remains committed to her role despite the court’s current conservative tilt.
“This is no time to lose her important voice on the court,” said a close confidante, noting that Sotomayor, who turned 70 earlier this year, remains in good health and is dedicated to her position. The source added that progressives should focus on other ways of safeguarding liberal values and the Constitution under the incoming administration.
Sotomayor’s position as the senior liberal justice gives her a prominent role in the court’s progressive wing, where she has frequently issued pointed dissents on issues such as abortion rights, voting laws, and executive power. As the senior member of the court’s minority, she has become a leading figure for progressives at a time when the court has tilted decisively to the right, especially after Trump’s three appointments during his first term.
Some liberal voices, citing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decision not to retire while Obama could have appointed her successor, have advocated for Sotomayor to consider stepping down while Democrats retain a slim hold on the Senate. Ginsburg’s passing at 87 in 2020 allowed Trump to appoint Justice Amy Coney Barrett, cementing a conservative majority just weeks before the 2020 election. Similar arguments led to calls for Justice Stephen Breyer to retire when Democrats took power in 2021. Breyer eventually stepped down in 2022, enabling President Biden to appoint Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the court.
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, who had urged Ginsburg to retire in 2014, sees a different scenario now. “It is far more uncertain that the Democrats could confirm a successor than in summer 2014,” Chemerinsky explained, adding that Sotomayor is only 70, while Ginsburg was 81 at the time he encouraged her to retire.
For Sotomayor, the calls to retire are grounded in an abundance of caution by progressives hoping to avoid further shrinking of the court’s liberal minority. Justice Samuel Alito, 74, and Justice Clarence Thomas, 76, have similarly faced retirement speculation, with some conservatives proposing they step down before the 2026 midterm elections. While some conservative activists view this as a way to preserve the court’s conservative majority, others have criticized the idea as tactless. Leonard Leo, a Federalist Society leader, rebuffed such discussions, saying, “Treating Thomas and Alito like meat that has reached its expiration date is unwise, uninformed, and, frankly, just crass.”
Justice Sotomayor, known for her advocacy in civics education and her memoir My Beloved World, has become one of the most recognizable figures on the court. In a February Marquette Law School poll, she ranked as one of the most favorably viewed justices. While the court’s conservative majority is poised to shape U.S. law in the coming years, Sotomayor’s presence as a stalwart of liberal values underscores her resolve to stay, even as political landscapes shift.
Sources:
- Associated Press. (2024). “Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejects retirement calls, plans to stay on Supreme Court.”
- Marquette Law School. (2024). “Poll: Public opinions on Supreme Court justices.”
- The American Prospect. (2024). “Progressive activists suggest Supreme Court retirement strategy.”
