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IrelandHarry Litman doubts Alito will give Republicans a lame-duck vacancy
His fast-starting Supreme Court commentary argues that retirement pressure is unlikely to produce a rushed replacement for either Alito or Clarence Thomas.
Talking Feds with Harry Litman
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 1,040,443 views a day, 10 times a normal first day on this channel (101,578).
Alito Just Made a SURPRISING Move After Dems CRUSHED the GOP
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:00Litman introduces speculation that Republicans could persuade Alito or Thomas to retire during the lame-duck session.
- 1:20He predicts neither justice will leave immediately, arguing that such timing would look openly partisan.
- 3:12Litman says Alito has publicly ruled out retirement before the end of the court's term.
- 4:14He weighs the justices' calculations about whether Trump or a future president would choose their replacements.
- 5:43A rushed confirmation, he argues, would face resistance from Democrats and potentially some Republican senators.
Republicans may want a Supreme Court vacancy before the Senate changes hands, but Harry Litman sees a considerable gap between wanting one and getting one.
In his Talking Feds commentary, Litman examines speculation that Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas could retire during the lame-duck session following Republicans' midterm losses. His answer comes early: "Uh-uh, this ain't gonna happen."
The video passed half a million views in eight hours, an unusually fast start for the channel. The comments were already several times busier than the channel's usual full first day, with court expansion, term limits and the Senate's handling of past nominations among the subjects viewers raised.
Despite the upload's title, "Alito Just Made a SURPRISING Move After Dems CRUSHED the GOP", this is an argument against expecting an imminent vacancy, not an announcement of a retirement. Litman says Alito has publicly ruled out leaving before the end of the court's term.
Litman's reasoning has two parts. First, he argues that an immediate departure designed to let Republicans confirm a successor would look overtly partisan, undermining the justices' insistence that they apply law rather than practice politics. Second, a vacancy would only begin the process: a hurried confirmation would still face resistance in the Senate.
He considers potential objections from Democrats and Republican senators including Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. For Litman, the obstacle is not simply persuading a justice to leave, but getting a replacement through before the political window closes.
A US Supreme Court justice who has served since 2006. He was nominated by President George W. Bush.
More on Wikipedia ›A US Supreme Court justice who has served since 1991. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush.
More on Wikipedia ›A Republican US senator for Maine who has held the seat since 1997.
More on Wikipedia ›Alaska's senior US senator, serving since 2002. She is a Republican.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Subscribers
- 480,000 ▲ 2,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 2,557,705
- Channel views, pace per day
- 385,645 (on a normal day: 349,163)
- Video published
- November 9, 2026
- Video views so far
- 516,766 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 1,040,443
The numbers
The upload's early pace is well above Talking Feds' usual start for regular videos. Its comment section has also exceeded the channel's typical full first day.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which president nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court?
George W. Bush nominated Alito in 2005, and Alito joined the Court in 2006.