Alito's 'War' Mentality for Clerks is Justified Given Threats to Supreme Court Independence
Source: Breccan F. Thies. "Alito Wants His Clerks To Know 'This Is A War' For America." April 22, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Justice Alito is right to tell his clerks they're fighting a 'war' for America because liberal activists, politicians, and media are using threats and intimidation to try to control how the Supreme Court rules. The author says this approach is necessary to protect the Court's independence from political pressure.
Conclusion
Justice Alito's approach of training his clerks to view their work as part of an ideological 'war' for America is appropriate and necessary given the unprecedented threats to Supreme Court independence
Premises
- The Supreme Court faces continuous assault from politicians, activists, and media seeking to undermine its independence
- The Dobbs leak and subsequent violence demonstrated that some are willing to use intimidation and threats to influence judicial outcomes
- Left-wing violence and threats spiraled out of control as a means to intimidate justices into changing their rulings
- Threats of court-packing and impeachment are intended to make justices do the political bidding of the left
- The traditional barrier protecting the high court from politics has been broken down by these intimidation tactics
- Some inside the court participated in pressure campaigns that put colleagues' lives at risk for political outcomes
Assumptions
- The Supreme Court should remain independent from political pressure
- Alito's characterization of the situation as 'war' accurately reflects reality
- The threats and intimidation are primarily coming from the left/liberal side
- Training clerks with this mindset will help preserve constitutional governance
- The Dobbs decision represents proper constitutional interpretation worth defending