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WASHINGTON (CN) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was treated by a doctor for symptoms of dehydration after becoming ill during a legal society event in Pennsylvania, the high court acknowledged Friday.
A court spokesperson said that 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, a George W. Bush appointee, became ill during a Federalist Society event held March 20 in Philadelphia. The justice was reportedly examined and given fluids to treat dehydration, but nonetheless traveled home that night.
In a statement to Courthouse News, a Supreme Court spokesperson confirmed the details of the incident.
“On the evening of Friday, March 20, Justice Alito felt ill during an event in Philadelphia,” the spokesperson said. “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 an examination and the “administration of fluids for dehydration,” the justice returned to his Virginia home that same night “as previously planned,” a Supreme Court spokesperson said. He was later “thoroughly checked” by his personal physician and returned to the court the following Monday for oral arguments.
Alito, 76, has remained active on the high court bench. This week, he pressed attorneys challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
News of last month’s episode comes amid speculation about whether Alito will retire during Trump’s second term. Alito has declined to discuss his plans, but his departure would give Trump a fourth opportunity to appoint a justice to the high court.
Alito has been a reliable 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 defending Trump’s effort to limit 14th Amendment protections for children of immigrants without permanent legal status. Breaking from the rest of the bench, he suggested 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 when the 14th Amendment was adopted, which is illegal immigration.”
Under the Biden administration, Alito drew scrutiny during Democrats’ Supreme Court ethics probe. Lawmakers questioned a 2008 trip to Alaska organized by Leonard Leo, founder of the conservative Federalist Society, and a flag displayed outside one of Alito’s homes that became associated with 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 require the Supreme Court to adopt a formal code of ethics.
“Congress did not create the Supreme Court,” Alito said at the time. “I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Alito’s comments “unwise and unwelcome.”
Alito has been an associate justice at the Supreme Court for two decades. He was confirmed in 2006 to his lifetime position on the bench.
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