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NPR retracted a report Tuesday that incorrectly claimed Samuel Alito was retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, acknowledging the story had been published in error.
The report appeared shortly after the Supreme Court concluded its term and cited what NPR described as a statement from the court’s press office announcing Alito’s retirement.
However, Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe quickly disputed the report, telling Politico that “NPR’s reporting regarding Justice Alito is inaccurate. And their reporting that there was any kind of court statement is inaccurate.”
NPR Editor-in-Chief Tommy Evans later acknowledged the mistake, saying the report resulted from “a misunderstanding,” according to the New York Post.
“As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR’s website, and an on-air correction was broadcast,” Evans said, adding that longtime NPR Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg had “reached out to Justice Alito to apologize.”
Totenberg, 82, has covered the Supreme Court for NPR for more than five decades and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading legal journalists. She previously faced scrutiny after the 2020 death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, when it became public that the two had maintained a close personal friendship for decades.
Ginsburg officiated Totenberg’s second wedding in 2000, prompting criticism from some media observers who argued the relationship should have been disclosed earlier.
Alito, 76, joined the Supreme Court in 2006 after being nominated by George W. Bush to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
The erroneous retirement report also comes as NPR faces financial challenges after Congress eliminated more than $1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public media organizations, including NPR member stations.
President Donald Trump previously signed an executive order directing an end to federal taxpayer funding for public broadcasting.
Although NPR has said that direct federal grants account for less than one percent of its operating budget, many local member stations rely on Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding to help pay for NPR programming.