WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito outlined three principles he said Americans must defend to preserve the republic, speaking at a fireside chat with Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief at The Federalist, during the Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner at the 2026 National Lawyer's Convention.
Alito highlighted freedom of speech, religious liberty and racial equality as essential to the nation's future.
"I'm not saying we're entering the dark age, but these are things that we have to preserve no matter what the atmosphere is in the country or the world at the time," Alito said.
His remarks followed the 2026 midterm elections, in which Republicans lost 42 House seats and eight Senate seats, with Alaska's Senate race uncalled. Democrats are positioned to take control of Congress, with their incoming majority including eight lawmakers backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
New and returning Democratic members have publicly called for investigations and subpoenas targeting President Donald Trump and his administration.
Alito stressed the importance of robust free speech to democratic self-governance. "You cannot have democratic self-fulfillment if you cannot have robust free speech," he said, noting that protection extends to speech that offends some listeners. Open discourse is vital for democracy to function, he argued.
On religious freedom, Alito said the Supreme Court has placed it "on a sounder footing than it was on 20, 25 years ago." The Court will rule this term on at least two major cases involving religious liberty: St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy and Grand v. City of University Heights.
Alito emphasized that religious liberty is central to human dignity and that in a religiously diverse nation, respect for differing faiths is essential for peaceful coexistence.
"We are not going to be able to get along, I think, amicably, productively, if we don't respect everybody's right to follow whatever religion they want, or for people of faith, they're also free to do that," Alito said.
