Absence of 3 Conservative Judges From State of the Union Address Turns Political

In 2012, Justice Thomas told a group of college students he did not attend the State of the Union because the presidential address has become so partisan.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts (L), along with (L–R) Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and (back) Ketanji Brown Jackson stand together ahead of President Joe Biden's third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. Shawn Thew/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Three of the Supreme Court’s most conservative justices were conspicuously absent from President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

The no-shows of Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, and Samuel Alito came just one week after the high court agreed to review the argument by former President Donald Trump that he has immunity against prosecution for allegedly inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.