WASHINGTON — Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who has been battling thyroid cancer and persistent rumors that he is about to retire, announced Thursday night that he intended to stay on the Supreme Court as long as his health permitted.
"I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement," the 80-year-old chief justice said in a statement released by his family. "I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday July 19, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Supreme Court -- An article in Friday's Section A about Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said Melville Fuller was chief justice from 1890 to 1910. He led the court from 1888 to 1910.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 15, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 39 words Type of Material: Correction
Supreme Court -- An article in Section A on July 15 about Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist referred to William H. Douglas as one of the longest-serving Supreme Court justices in history. It should have said William O. Douglas.
Rehnquist's statement was issued the same day that he was discharged from a Virginia hospital, where he had been taken Tuesday night with a fever.
His decision means that President Bush will have only one seat to fill on the Supreme Court this summer.
Until July 1, the president and his aides expected that Rehnquist's would be the seat they would have to fill.
They thought Rehnquist's illness would force his retirement, and they intended to move quickly to replace the conservative chief justice with a reliably conservative federal appeals court judge. The leading candidates were all men.
But when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement, the White House was forced to switch gears. The president and his legal advisors broadened their search to consider several women on the federal bench. They also spoke of taking several weeks to make a decision.
Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, 49, vaulted back to the top of the list because his nomination, like O'Connor's in 1981, would be a breakthrough. President Reagan made history by naming the first woman to the Supreme Court, and Bush would like to do the same by appointing the first Latino.
But conservative activists have made it clear they are not enthusiastic about Gonzales, whom they perceive as a moderate on two issues at the core of their agenda -- abortion and affirmative action.
The White House delay in naming O'Connor's replacement may have also stemmed from the persistent speculation among conservative activists that the chief justice was planning to retire.
Columnist Robert Novak went so far as to say on CNN last Friday that Rehnquist's retirement would be announced about 5 p.m. that same day, after Bush returned from the Group of Eight meetings in Scotland. Rehnquist was at work in the Supreme Court building, and court officials said they saw no hint that he planned to quit.
