Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was spotted at the Capitol on Monday — and no one knows exactly why.
This comes after a blockbuster day of Supreme Court opinions that included upholding current state mail ballot counting systems and a massive transformation of the administrative state in President Donald Trump's favor; it also comes as the court is set to deliver its final opinions of the term, including a landmark decision about whether Trump can abolish birthright citizenship.
According to at least one reporter on Capitol Hill, Republicans believe the 78-year-old far-right jurist was there for medical reasons.
"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was just in the Capitol," wrote Politico's Meredith Lee Hill. "He declined to answer questions about why he was here as he left the House side. He did not meet with House GOP leadership and Rs believe he was here for the House physician office, per sources."
MS NOW reporter Mychael Schnell could not ascertain this, but confirmed the secretive nature of Thomas' presence on the Hill.
"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas just walked through the House side of the Capitol," she said. "He didn’t say why he was here. But told me he was meeting with 'nobody.' I said tomorrow will be a big day at the court. 'I guess so,' he responded. Would he give a sneak peak of decisions? 'Nope,' he told me with a chuckle."
The whole situation raised eyebrows among political observers, with former President Barack Obama spokesperson TJ Adams Falconer posting a GIF of "Veep" protagonist Selina Meyer saying, "Well, that's (expletive) ... not good."
Thomas, who has served on the Supreme Court since 1991 and is currently its most senior justice, has thus far rebuffed all calls from Republican legal strategists to step down and allow Trump to replace him with someone younger.