Justice Clarence Thomas.Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The Supreme Court is staying mum — at least for the moment — about JusticeClarence Thomas' health after he was hospitalized last week and has since missed three days of oral arguments.
Thomas had beenexpected to be releasedfrom Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday after experiencing “flu-like symptoms” and being diagnosed with an infection, the court said in apress releaseon Sunday. He first entered the hospital on Friday.
Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe declined on Wednesday to provide an update on Thomas' condition to the AP andCNN. McCabe likewise did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The court said Sunday that Thomas' symptoms had been “abating.”
Clarence Thomas.ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“He underwent tests, was diagnosed with an infection, and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics,” the court said then. “His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two.”
“It is not COVID related. The Justice does not have COVID,” a court spokespersontold CNN.
His absence comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee separately holds confirmation hearings forKetanji Brown Jackson, whom PresidentJoe Bidennominated to replace retiring JusticeStephen Breyer.
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Since joining the high court, Thomas has often sided with his fellow conservatives, opposing decisions in favor of affirmative action and dissenting from the decisions to uphold the federal tax subsidies of the Affordable Care Act and the constitutional right of gay couples to get married.
He was as an assistant to Missouri Attorney General John Danforth and a lawyer for the agricultural company Monsanto before moving to D.C.
PresidentRonald Reaganappointed Thomas to several positions, including the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1982. Bush later nominated him to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
He published a 2007 memoir,My Grandfather’s Son.
source: people.com
