The Supreme Court accepted reports that the justice had been treated by a doctor after a Federal Association event several weeks earlier, but that he had returned for oral arguments days later.
WASHINGTON (CN) – Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was treated by a doctor for symptoms of dehydration after falling ill during a law society event in Pennsylvania, the high court acknowledged Friday.
A court spokesman said the justice’s previously undisclosed illness did not affect his travel schedule and that he returned to work just days later after a follow-up examination.
CNN reported Friday morning that Alito, an appointee of George W. Bush, fell ill during a Federalist Society event held March 20 in Philadelphia. Justice was reportedly examined and given fluids to treat dehydration, but still traveled home that night.
In a statement to Courthouse News, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court confirmed the details of the incident.
“On Friday evening, March 20, Justice Alito felt ill during an event in Philadelphia,” the spokesman said. “Out of caution, he agreed to his security detail’s recommendation to see a doctor before the three-hour drive home.”
After an examination and “administration of fluids for dehydration,” the justice returned to his home in Virginia that same night “as previously scheduled,” a Supreme Court spokesman said. He was later “thoroughly checked out” by his personal doctor and returned to court next Monday for oral arguments.
Alito, 76, has remained active on the high court bench. This week, he pressured advocates challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
News of last month’s episode comes amid speculation over whether Alito will step down during Trump’s second term. Alito has declined to discuss his plans, but his departure would give Trump a fourth chance to appoint a justice to the high court.
Alito has been a staunch supporter of the Trump administration’s agenda, often joining Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent when the court has blocked White House policies.
During this week’s birthright citizenship case, Alito appeared to be the only justice to defend Trump’s efforts to limit 14th Amendment protections for the children of immigrants without permanent legal status. Breaking away from the rest of the bench, he suggested that illegal immigration was a modern problem that could justify an exception to birthright citizenship.
“There’s a general rule there, and you apply it to future applications,” Alito said. “And what we’re dealing with here is something that was basically unknown at the time the 14th Amendment was passed, which is illegal immigration.”
Under the Biden administration, Alito drew attention during the Democrats’ Supreme Court ethics investigation. Lawmakers questioned a 2008 trip to Alaska organized by Leonard Leo, founder of the conservative Federalist Society, and a banner displayed outside one of Alito’s homes that was linked to the Stop the Steal movement.
Alito also drew criticism in 2023 for comments in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal rejecting congressional efforts to ask the Supreme Court to adopt an official ethics code.
“Congress did not create the Supreme Court,” Alito said at the time. “I know that’s a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to fix the Supreme Court.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Alito’s comments “reckless and uncalled for.”
Alito has been an associate justice on the Supreme Court for two decades. He was confirmed in 2006 in his lifetime position on the bench.
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