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Trump reveals he has multi-pick SCOTUS plan ready as retirement speculation heats up
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President Donald Trump said he is «prepared» to appoint up to three Supreme Court justices if vacancies arise, signaling he is ready to further reshape the high court as speculation swirls around a potential retirement from Justice Samuel Alito.
Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, could retire and that he has a shortlist of nominees in mind, though he did not mention any names.
The remarks sharpen the stakes around any potential vacancy, as Trump signaled he is ready to seize the opportunity to deepen the court’s conservative majority. With retirement speculation around Alito intensifying and Republicans eyeing the window before the 2026 midterms, the prospect of an opening is already putting fresh focus on succession politics.
«In theory, it’s two — you just read the statistics — it could be two, could be three, could be one,» Trump said. «I don’t know. I’m prepared to do it. But when you mention Alito, he is a great justice.»
JONATHAN TURLEY: KAMALA HARRIS BACKS RADICAL PLAN TO BLOCK TRUMP SCOTUS PICKS
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito testifies about the court’s budget during a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee March 7, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rumors about Alito, 76, potentially retiring have grown because of his age, his two-decade tenure on the bench and speculation that he may want to make sure a conservative successor is confirmed by the current Republican-led Senate, especially before the upcoming midterm elections in which Republicans are at risk of losing or seeing a diminished majority.
The rumors were further fueled when it was revealed Alito was treated last month for dehydration after becoming ill at a Federalist Society dinner. A Supreme Court spokesperson clarified at the time that the justice was «thoroughly checked» and returned to the bench the following Monday.
TRUMP DISMISSES CALLS FOR ALITO, THOMAS TO STEP DOWN FROM SUPREME COURT, CALLING THEM ‘FANTASTIC’
Justice Clarence Thomas, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, has drawn less retirement speculation despite being one year older than Alito at 77 and his own lengthy tenure. Thomas has been a conservative fixture on the court for more than three decades and holds a record as the second-longest serving justice in history.
President Donald Trump and Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, center, and Samuel Alito, right. (Chip Somodevilla/AFP/Getty Images)
Trump noted what he viewed as an upside to replacing Alito, who sides with him on nearly every high-profile court case, but said it would come at a cost.
«Justice Alito is an unbelievable justice, and a brilliant justice, and he gets the country,» Trump said. «He does what’s right for the country. It’s the law, and he goes by it as much as anybody, but he gets to the point. That’s good for our country. So … one way you should be, ‘Oh, I’m thrilled,’ but he’s so good.»
While many prominent conservative judges, from appellate court Judge James Ho to Florida-based federal Judge Aileen Cannon, have been floated as options in legal circles, Trump has not publicly revealed any of his preferences at this stage.
Senate Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters this week he would recommend Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, or Mike Lee, R-Utah, as top candidates if Alito were to retire. Grassley emphasized that he hoped Alito would not step down but said his committee is «fully prepared» to process a nominee before the upcoming midterm elections if needed.
Cruz said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that having his name in the mix was a «high honor» but that he did not want the job.
«The reason I’ve said no is that a principled federal judge stays out of policy fights and stays out of political fights. … But I don’t want to stay out of policy fights. I don’t want to stay out of political fights,» Cruz said. «I want to be right in the middle of them.»
Lee’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks to the 2025 Supreme Court Fellows Program Feb. 13, 2025, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP)
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No president since Ronald Reagan has influenced the Supreme Court more than Trump, who secured three appointments during his first term, underscoring how Trump has shaped the 6-3 ideological divide on the court in favor of conservatives.
George H.W. Bush appointed two, as did George W. Bush and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Former President Joe Biden appointed one, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
supreme court, midterm elections, donald trump, appointments, senate elections
Russia’s shadow fleet launches drone campaign across Europe
Jennifer Griffin reports on Russia’s shadow fleet launching a drone campaign across Europe to surveil military sites and test NATO’s air defenses. The International Institute for Strategic Studies report reveals 144 suspected drones near sensitive sites in Germany, France and the UK.
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A drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport late Tuesday, prompting officials to warn the incident represented «a new quality of danger,» authorities said Wednesday.
The discovery temporarily shut down both runways at the major European freight hub and forced several flights to divert to other airports, according to The Associated Press.
Another flying object was spotted nearby shortly before midnight and several flights, including one passenger plane, were then diverted to other airports.
JETBLUE FLIGHT REPORTS DRONE STRIKE DURING APPROACH TO NEW YORK AIRPORT: FAA
Police said an airport worker had found the first drone near the airport’s south runway with «an unknown explosive device.» (Hendrik Schmidt/DPA via AP)
German police launched a large response and opened an investigation into the two incidents.
Police said an airport worker found the first explosive drone near the airport’s south runway with «an unknown explosive device.»
An explosives disposal robot was deployed to examine the device before authorities removed its detonator.
The plane, bearing the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, displayed the English-language slogan, «Be Brave Like Kherson,» a tribute to the southern Ukrainian region, Deutsche Welle reported.
In the second incident, an unidentified flying object collided with a cargo aircraft that had aborted its landing at Leipzig/Halle Airport because of the runway closure.
HELICOPTER REPORTS NEAR MISS WITH RC PLANE NEAR JFK AFTER JETBLUE DRONE STRIKE
The plane bore the colors of the Ukrainian flag. (Hendrik Schmidt/DPA via AP)
The aircraft diverted to Hannover Airport, about 125 miles north-west of Leipzig, where officials found minor damage, according to The Associated Press.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the discovery of the first drone marked a significant escalation.
«Drone sightings, drone threats, including in a hybrid context, are something we know from the past,» he said. «That a drone armed with explosives is at an airport is a new threat scenario.»
Dobrindt also described the incident as «a hybrid attack scenario.»
He said questions about the type of explosives used, the drone’s origin and who was responsible remained under investigation.
«All the speculation that is currently going on about the explosives, the construction, the question of the drone, the origin and, of course, who is behind it, is now part of the investigation,» Dobrindt said.
«What is happening now also shows that the assessment made months ago — that we are dealing with a high level of danger — was justified.»
In June, Dobrindt opened Germany’s Joint Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats, which brings together federal and state security agencies to address threats including espionage, sabotage and disinformation.
REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSES
A drone carrying explosives was found at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport Tuesday night next to a Ukrainian plane, and officials warned the incident represented «a new quality of danger.» (Hendrik Schmidt/DPA via AP)
Leipzig/Halle Airport is a major European cargo hub, and Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft are based there.
NATO said it was aware of the incidents but referred questions to German authorities.
RUSSIA LINKED TO ARSON ATTACKS ON PROPERTIES CONNECTED TO UK PM KEIR STARMER, POLICE SAY
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, suggested Moscow may have been behind the incident, telling Welt TV Wednesday, «Who else could it be but Russia?» according to reports.
In 2024, an incendiary device ignited at a logistics center at Leipzig/Halle Airport, setting fire to a freight container in an incident Western security officials suspect was part of a Russian intelligence sabotage operation.
germany, nato, ukraine, russia, wars, drones
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el momento en que los sicarios marcaron al influencer mexicano César Gastélum antes de asesinarlo
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El-Sayed’s threat against GOP rival backfires as conservatives bring receipts: ‘Is Dubai in Florida?’
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Abdul El-Sayed, moments after capturing the Democratic Party’s nomination in Michigan’s Senate race, sparked online controversy for his word choice in challenging Republican nominee Mike Rogers to a series of five debates.
«I know you’re going to say no because you’re a coward. Five debates. Alright?» El-Sayed said.
«You and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes, but I’m gonna make sure Michiganders know about them. By the time we’re done, you are not going to have safe quarter from people holding you accountable for what you’ve done,» El-Sayed continued.
The language of «safe quarter» is raising eyebrows among viewers online.
The online backlash demonstrates how closely the Michigan Senate race is being watched across the country and how viewers are analyzing every move of El-Sayed, in particular.
2026 MIDTERMS STATE OF PLAY: KEY RACES UNFOLD AS STEVENS, EL-SAYED BATTLE IN MICHIGAN
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed claps during a press conference in front of the Spirit of Detroit statue on Aug. 5, 2026, in Detroit. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
The former local public health official succeeded in his race against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a more establishment candidate with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., despite being heavily outspent.
His campaign has been a proxy for larger questions in the Democratic Party: whether the progressive label and promises of aggressively expanded public sector involvement will resonate with their base over the relative safety of establishment messaging.
But it has also invited scrutiny.
Conservatives ripped El-Sayed on social media for attacking Rogers’ out-of-state vacation home while he owned multiple rental properties overseas. Doug Powers, a longtime editor and contributor for Twitchy, believes it clashes with El-Sayed’s financial disclosures revealing that he owns property not just out of the state but also overseas.
«If I’m the Rogers campaign, I’m putting this in an ad. ‘A socialist who owns property in Dubai and India is attacking me for having a vacation house in Florida while threatening me in my home state?’» Powers wrote in his own post to social media.
«’No safe quarter from people holding you accountable’ is commie messaging,» he added.
«The easy rebuttal for Mike Rogers here is to point out that El-Sayed owns property in a luxury development in Dubai,» Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter for The Washington Free Beacon, pointed out.
«Is Dubai in Florida?» yet another account wrote.
Fox News Digital previously reported that El-Sayed’s most recent financial disclosure exposes how El-Sayed and his wife own at least two foreign properties in Bangalore, India and Dubai. The Dubai property is worth up to $250,000.
Other conservatives slammed El-Sayed for the tone of his message and suggested it was putting a target on the back of his Republican rival.
LIZ PEEK: MICHIGAN CAN STOP THE SOCIALIST FEVER RAGE — OR WATCH IT SWALLOW THE SENATE
Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan on August 2, 2026 ( )
Scott Jennings, the conservative political personality and media commentator on CNN, bashed El-Sayed’s phrasing at the victory press conference.
«Abdul el Sayed threatening the safety of his opponent while the Jewish Democrat AG of Michigan says she can’t go to a Dem convention because she’s not safe, either. Does everyone see what’s happening here?» Jennings wrote in a post to X, referring to recent developments in the Wolverine state over anti-Semitic comments.
Brian Newberry, a Rhode Island state representative and former minority leader, echoed Jenning’s concern.
«Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, who pals around with [a] guy who celebrates 9/11, tells his Republican opponent that he will ‘not have safe quarter’ in his home state. Who the hell does this guy think he is?» Newberry wrote, hinting at El-Sayed’s association with Hasan Piker, a progressive streamer who has drawn backlash for past comments of his own.
«And will any — and I mean ANY — Democrat condemn this rhetoric?»
AG Hamilton, a popular conservative X account, called on El-Sayed to bring more clarity to the statement.
«Someone should ask el Sayed what exactly this means because it certainly comes off as a threat of political violence aimed at his opponent,» the account wrote.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the phrasing or on whether the online reactions were overblown.
DEMS SELECT THEIR CANDIDATE TO FACE LONGTIME GOP LAWMAKER WHO BALKED AT VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
In his remarks on Wednesday morning, El-Sayed continued to press his case against Rogers.
«Mike Rogers is a guy whose politics and vision and perspective are old. Mike Rogers is a guy who has never shied away from a corporation he could do a favor for,» El-Sayed said.
«If you want a senator who’s going to lick some boots, fine. Go vote for Mike Rogers. But if you want a senator who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump, then you’ve got your option right here.»
With the Democratic primary in the rear-view mirror, El-Sayed will face off against Rogers in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.
michigan, politics, democrats elections, senate
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