National Public Radio once again reminded people why they shouldn’t receive any taxpayer money: they published an unverified SCOTUS retirement story, which they had to retract. The Supreme Court issued decisions on transgender athletes, birthright citizenship, and campaign finance. Then NPR reported that Justice Samuel Alito is retiring. It was a shock to everyone at the Court, especially since there was no statement from the Public Information Office.
Mark Walsh of SCOTUSblog reported live, “The PIO just checking with Nina [Totenberg] in the broadcast booth and Nina says this is a mistake and they are taking it down…The PIO just emphasized that the court has not made any announcement to that effect.”
SCOTUSBlog: NPR is retracting a report that Justice Samuel Alito is retiring
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) June 30, 2026
Alito is staying on the court. pic.twitter.com/KVLR4zB2le
NPR has now retracted the story.
NEW - NPR published a story claiming to report that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 30, 2026
They are now facing massive criticism after issuing a retraction 10 minutes later.
Rough. pic.twitter.com/CsAmNUYKVU
Oh boy. NPR reported that Justice Alito was retiring, then retracted it 10 minutes later, saying it was “published in error.” pic.twitter.com/ljqd9udn9a
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 30, 2026
Full statement from NPR Editor in Chief Tommy Evans on retracted Alito report pic.twitter.com/MBNn3jI48D
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) June 30, 2026
What a disaster. Also, Nina, you’d think you would call or see someone from the PIO about this—they were right there, lady.
Prewrites are done all the time, and maybe this was in error, but yikes, folks. Disastrous look, and to get pistol-whipped by the SCOTUS PIO.
On the flip side, yes, there are rumors that Justice Alito could retire, but until that day arrives, he’s still on the Court.
UPDATE: We'll be on the lookout.
According to Wayback Machine, the NPR article announcing Justice Alito's retirement was supposed to be published on Friday, which coincides with Independence Day. pic.twitter.com/kTnhq700EV
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) June 30, 2026