What Happened to Clarence Thomas?

Clarence Thomas's journey to the Supreme Court began in Pin Point, Georgia, where he was born in 1948. After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross and Yale Law School, he held various legal and government positions, including Assistant Attorney General of Missouri, attorney for Monsanto, and Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In 1990, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and a year later, nominated him to the Supreme Court to succeed Justice Thurgood Marshall.

His 1991 confirmation hearings were highly contentious, marked by allegations of sexual harassment from former aide Anita Hill. Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing unwelcome sexual advances, which Thomas vehemently denied, famously calling the proceedings a "high-tech lynching". Despite the controversy, the Senate confirmed Thomas by a narrow 52-48 vote on October 15, 1991, and he took his seat on October 23, 1991, becoming the second African American Justice on the Supreme Court.

Throughout his tenure, Justice Thomas has established himself as a deeply conservative jurist, known for his originalist approach to constitutional interpretation and his strong stance against constitutional protections for abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and affirmative action. He was notably silent during oral arguments for many years, a pattern he began to break during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued into 2026, often being the first to ask questions. His concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade, explicitly called for the re-examination of other precedents based on the right to privacy, including those related to contraception and same-sex marriage.

In recent years, Thomas has faced intense scrutiny over his financial disclosures and ethics. ProPublica investigations starting in 2023 revealed that he had accepted numerous undisclosed luxury trips, private jet travel, and other gifts from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow over decades. These revelations sparked calls from Democrats and ethics watchdogs for stricter judicial ethics rules and investigations. In June 2024, Thomas acknowledged in a financial disclosure filing that he "inadvertently omitted" two 2019 trips funded by Crow, one to Indonesia and another to the Bohemian Grove, amending his 2019 report. His 2024 financial disclosure, released in May 2025, listed no gifts or travel reimbursements, though his wife's income from Liberty Consulting, Inc. was noted.

In January 2025, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's policymaking body, declined to refer complaints regarding Thomas's alleged ethics violations to the Department of Justice for investigation. The Conference cited Thomas's amended financial disclosure forms as addressing some concerns and also questioned its authority to make such referrals for Supreme Court justices.

As of April 1, 2026, Justice Thomas remains a central figure on the Supreme Court. He continues to participate actively in oral arguments, often initiating questioning. In March 2026, he authored the unanimous majority opinion in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, a significant copyright infringement case that delivered a win for internet service providers. In September 2025, Thomas made public remarks at Catholic University, stating that settled legal precedent is not "gospel" and should not be followed if it "doesn't make any sense," signaling his continued willingness to challenge established rulings. He is currently the longest-serving justice on the Court.