Supreme Court Justice Alito Was Briefly Hospitalized in March

Justice Samuel Alito, 76, was examined and released following a dinner in Pennsylvania. He’s the second-oldest member of the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was temporarily hospitalized last month for an undisclosed illness, court officials confirmed on April 3.

The court’s public information office told The Epoch Times that on the evening of March 20, the justice “felt ill during an event in Philadelphia.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, he agreed with his security detail’s recommendation to see a physician before the three-hour drive home. After that examination and the administration of fluids for dehydration, he returned home that night, as previously planned,” the office said.

“Justice Alito was thoroughly checked by his own physician, and he returned to work the following Monday for oral argument,” the office added.

The office did not disclose the nature of Alito’s health issue.

Alito has not missed any scheduled arguments in the court’s current session that began in October 2025, except for the argument in Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish on Jan. 12. In that case, in which Louisiana localities allege energy companies damaged the state’s environment, Alito recused himself because of a financial conflict of interest.

After the hospital visit, the justice participated in and asked questions during the oral argument on Monday, March 23, in Watson v. Republican National Committee. In that case, the justices seemed skeptical of a Mississippi law that allows the state to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day in federal elections. The justices are expected to issue a ruling on the case by late June or early July.

Some Republicans have recently suggested that Alito, who turned 76 on April 1, should retire to give President Donald Trump an opportunity to appoint a new, younger justice, in case Republicans lose control of the U.S. Senate in the November elections. When a president nominates a justice, the Senate conducts hearings and votes on whether to confirm the nominee.

Alito is the second-oldest member of the court, after Justice Clarence Thomas, who is 77.

Trump said in an interview with Politico in December 2025 that he hopes Alito and Thomas stay on the Supreme Court because he thinks “both of those men are fantastic.”

Alito has made no public statements indicating he intends to step down.

Regarded as a judicial conservative and an originalist, Alito took his seat on the court in January 2006, after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Trump appointed three justices in his first term—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.