Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday he doesn’t think about retiring, but he once asked two longtime friends to intervene if his health is ever in decline.
“I’ve sat down with them and said, ‘I want at the appropriate time’ — because you don’t always notice that you’re slipping — ‘I want the two of you to tell me if it’s time to go,’” Roberts told a crowd of judges and lawyers gathered in Buffalo, N.Y.
“It was a long pause, and at once, the two of them said, ‘It’s time to go.’ So I said, ‘Alright, never mind,’” he continued.
Roberts, 70, made clear he has no plans to step down any time soon, joking, “I’m going out feet first” when the question came up.
“I say that now. I mean, I’m sure if your health declines, and if you recognize that you’re a burden to the court rather than part of an assist to everybody, then, it’ll be time to go,” he said.
The chief justice’s comments at a fireside chat celebrating the 125th anniversary of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York come as the the issue of age takes on increased prominence in all three branches of government.
Former President Biden couldn’t escape questions about his age as he campaigned for a second term, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) freezes in front of reporters sparked concerns about his health, and a 97-year-old federal judge based in the nation’s capital remains embroiled in a battle with her fellow judges over her mental fitness. Other lawmakers have faced similar scrutiny.
Roberts suggested he doesn’t think age is a problem at the Supreme Court, however, saying it’s only been an issue “just a handful of times.”
“There have been times when somebody has stayed a little longer than they should, then the other colleagues come, and it’s always really worked out, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Roberts said.
Roberts stressed Wednesday he still feels “pretty healthy.” Though he has served on the Supreme Court for nearly two decades, he is younger than three of his colleagues: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor.
Recent retirement speculation has mainly swirled around Thomas and Alito, but neither justice has given any indication they plan to imminently step down.
The chief justice spent much of his talk recounting his background and childhood in Buffalo, mentioning he had visited his boyhood home before coming to the dinner.
At one point, Roberts was asked about recent calls to impeach judges who have ruled against Trump administration policies, but the chief justice merely pointed to his earlier rebuke of the calls.
“Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with decisions,” Roberts said.
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