Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said America must hold onto three core principles regardless of the country's political climate: free speech, religious liberty and racial equality. He made the remarks during a fireside chat with Mollie Hemingway, editor of the Federalist, in Washington, D.C. The conversation followed the Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, held during the 2026 National Lawyers Convention.
Alito, 76, was appointed to the Court by President George W. Bush and has served on the bench since 2006. He said he ranks 42nd in the Court's history for length of service. Asked about the broader moment, he made clear that the principles he named were meant to hold steady whatever the prevailing mood in the country happened to be.
On free speech, Alito argued that the protection extends to speech that many people find offensive. He framed it as a principle that must survive even when public opinion turns hostile to particular views. On religious liberty, he said the protection now stands on firmer footing than it did 20 to 25 years ago. He pointed to pending cases, including St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy and Grand v. University Heights, that the Court is set to decide.
Alito also invoked racial equality, drawing on Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at the Lincoln Memorial. He connected the principle to the Court's decision to hear Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County, a challenge alleging that admissions practices in a Maryland school district discriminate against Asian American students. He cited the Court's 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as having been consequential for the issue, and the new case shows how that debate has continued to reach the courts.
The remarks come against a backdrop of major political change. In the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans lost 42 House seats and eight Senate seats, while a Senate race in Alaska remains uncalled. Democrats will control Congress, including eight lawmakers backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Democrats have signaled plans for investigations and subpoenas targeting the Trump administration, setting up a period of sharper oversight fights in Washington.
Alito said the midterm results did not change his plans to remain on the Court, a point that stands out given the shift in congressional power. He spoke as the country also faces economic strain tied to the ongoing war with Iran, which has disrupted oil supplies and pushed up gas and consumer goods prices. Those pressures are reaching households even as the legal questions Alito discussed move through the courts.