Clarence Thomas is now second longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history. But his conservative influence is bigger than ever

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsClarence Thomas is now second longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history. But his conservative influence is bigger than everThomas' seniority means he can decide who writes an opinion if he's part of a majority that doesn't include Chief Justice John RobertsLindsay Whitehurst Thursday 07 May 2026 15:18 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2972339","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-conservative-trump-b2972339.html","title":"Clarence Thomas reaches Supreme Court milestone as his influence soars"}}CloseDemocratic senators call for investigation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence ThomasSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"NSC","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingtonNews","regSourceSe...