Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas considers retirement

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas considers retirement, according to report
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...s21n-1-web.jpgConservative High Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

(TIM SLOAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
BY ADAM EDELMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, June 20, 2016, 10:38 AM

The Supreme Court could soon have another vacancy, according to a report Monday.

Conservative High Court Justice Clarence Thomas is considering retiring from the bench following the November presidential election, the Washington Examiner reported, citing “court watchers.”

The report cited sources claiming that Thomas, 67, had “been considering retirement for a while and never planned to stay until he died.”

In a sharply worded Facebook post, however, Thomas’ wife Ginny, however, rejected the report as ”bogus.”

Clarence Thomas is nominated to the Supreme Court in 1991

"For all those who are contacting me about the possibility of my husband retiring, I say — unsubscribe from those false news sources and carry on with your busy lives" she wrote. "IT. IS. BOGUS!” she posted.

If Thomas, who was nominated to the court by former President George H.W. Bush in 1991, were to step down, he would create the second vacancy on the high court this year.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...0/61975037.jpgU.S. Supreme Court members Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan.

(CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES)

The first one was created after Antonin Scalia died in February.

President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the role, but in an unprecedented show of obstinance, Senate Republicans have refused to allow a confirmation vote on him.

If presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton were to hold on to her lead in polls and defeat Donald Trump in November, she would be tasked with filling two vacancies.

If Clinton were to nominate progressive or progressive-leaning justices, the Supreme Court could have a leftward shift that could last for a generation.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...icle-1.2680433