The conservative justice was not present for oral arguments on Monday, but the court did not provide a reason why.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was not present at the court for oral arguments on Monday, with the court giving no reason for his absence.
Chief Justice John Roberts said in court that Thomas “is not on the bench today” but would “participate fully” in the two cases being argued based on the briefs and transcripts.
A court spokeswoman had no further information.
Thomas, 75, is the eldest of the nine justices. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
Senate is 49 R, 48 D, with 3 I. Sanders, King and Sinema.
So if Sinema or Manchin flipped, that would be 50 R and Mitch is back.
No, those 3 Independents caucus with Democrats and vote with Democrats for the purposes of organizing the Senate. So it is effectively 51-49 for the purpose of establishing the Senate Leadership. One flip makes it 50-50, and then Harris spends a lot more time in the Senate.