President Trump told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo that he has a shortlist ready and is prepared to nominate as many as three new Supreme Court justices if seats open up, a signal that the White House is already planning for the possibility that the court's oldest conservatives may retire before the 2026 midterms.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox Business, Trump addressed speculation about the futures of Justice Samuel Alito, 76, and Justice Clarence Thomas, 77, the two senior members of the court's conservative wing.

"It could be two, could be three, could be one. I don't know, I'm prepared to do it," Trump said. He added that he was not sure there would be an opening by the end of the year, but made clear the groundwork is already laid.

Alito retirement speculation and the March hospitalization

Much of the recent chatter has centered on Alito, who was hospitalized in March. The reason for that hospitalization has not been publicly disclosed, and neither Alito nor Thomas has suggested any plan to step down.

A source close to Alito told Fox News that the justice is not stepping down this term and is hiring clerks for next term, a practical indicator that retirement, if it comes, is not imminent. There has been less speculation about Thomas leaving the bench.

Trump praised Alito warmly. "Justice Alito is an unbelievable justice and a brilliant justice and he gets the country," the president said. "He does what's right for the country."

He also called Thomas "one of the great justices of all time." The tone was respectful, not pressuring, but the message was plain. The administration wants any potential vacancy filled while Republicans still hold the Senate.

The Ginsburg lesson

Trump drew a direct line to the cautionary tale of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was urged to step down during former President Obama's second term while Democrats still controlled the Senate. She declined. She died in 2020 at age 87, during the final stretch of Trump's first term.

"She decided that she was going to live forever, and about two minutes after the election, she went out and I got to appoint somebody."

That appointee was Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation cemented the court's 6-3 conservative majority. It remains one of the most consequential personnel moves of Trump's first presidency, and it happened precisely because Ginsburg refused to yield her seat at a time when her ideological allies could have chosen her replacement.

Trump's point was not subtle. "So, you know, you make the case that at a certain time you give it up... so that your ideology, your policies, your everything, would be of the kind that we like," he said.

The left learned this lesson the hard way. Whether the right's senior justices absorb it remains to be seen. Trump, who has reportedly been interested in naming Sen. Ted Cruz to the court, already has names in mind.

Senate Republicans signal readiness

The White House is not operating alone on this front. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday that the GOP would be prepared to confirm a Supreme Court vacancy if one opened before the midterms, Politico reported. Sen. Chuck Grassley echoed that message, saying Republicans are fully prepared to process a nominee before the midterm elections if a vacancy arises.

That alignment matters. The confirmation window is finite. Republicans hold the Senate now, but midterm elections have a way of reshuffling the deck. If a seat opens in 2027 under a Democratic Senate majority, the calculus changes entirely.

Trump already appointed three justices during his first term. Adding one, two, or even three more would mark a generational reshaping of the federal judiciary's highest body, the kind of legacy that outlasts any single administration by decades. The New York Post noted as far back as 2018 that Trump was eyeing picks who could serve for decades, and that long-term thinking has clearly not changed.

The stakes beyond personnel

The Supreme Court has been at the center of some of the most contested legal battles of Trump's second term. The justices recently heard arguments on Trump's birthright citizenship challenge, and the court has weighed in on executive authority questions that go to the heart of the administration's agenda.

A vacancy, or two, would not just affect the ideological balance. It would reshape how the court handles presidential power cases for a generation. The current conservative majority has not always moved in lockstep with the White House; Trump himself has publicly criticized the court when rulings went against his positions.

That tension makes the nomination question more than a numbers game. The president is not simply looking to maintain a 6-3 split. He wants justices who share his constitutional vision and who will serve long enough to anchor it.

Meanwhile, the court continues to take up cases that test the boundaries of executive power, including Trump's bid to oust a Fed governor, a dispute that could define the scope of presidential removal authority for years to come.

No vacancy yet, but the clock is ticking

For now, there is no vacancy. No justice has announced retirement. Alito's clerk hiring suggests business as usual, at least through the next term. Thomas has given no public indication he is considering stepping aside.

But the president's public remarks serve a purpose beyond mere preparation. They send a message to Alito and Thomas: the table is set, the Senate is ready, and the window is open. If they wait too long, they risk becoming the conservative version of Ginsburg, holding on past the point where their departure could guarantee a like-minded successor.

Trump did not name anyone on his shortlist during the interview. Whether Cruz or someone else is at the top remains an open question. What is not in question is the president's intent.

Ginsburg gambled on time and lost. The left paid for it with a generation of jurisprudence. Trump is making sure his allies on the bench know the stakes, and that the door won't stay open forever.