Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's son has been secretly working as a political appointee attorney at the U.S. Treasury Department, raising serious conflict of interest questions as high-stakes cases involving the agency have made their way to the nation's highest court, according to a report.
Philip Alito was hired to Treasury's office of the general counsel in the early months of the second Trump administration, according to four former government officials, yet his presence there has been treated as something close to a state secret, reported NOTUS.
"If people were introducing themselves by first and last name, he'd just say 'Phil,' not Phil Alito," said one former official. "He's a pretty soft-spoken guy."
The younger Alito maintains no public resume, has no LinkedIn profile and his name appears nowhere on the Treasury Department's website. Colleagues recall that he went out of his way to avoid drawing attention to his famous surname.
But the low profile belies the significance of his role. As an attorney-adviser in the general counsel's front office, Philip Alito was briefed on important Treasury matters across the board and offered legal feedback at the highest levels.
"There's no doubt he got that position because of who he is," a second source said.
The Treasury Department's general counsel office handles legal matters related to taxation, economic policy and law enforcement. It could be involved in multiple federal lawsuits challenging Trump's controversial anti-weaponization fund — which allocates public money to individuals claiming unfair targeting by the Justice Department — that could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
While Philip Alito was working at the Treasury, a lawsuit challenging Trump's use of emergency powers to issue tariffs was argued before the justices in November — with the Treasury Department named as a defendant, but the department never disclosed Philip Alito's employment in court documents.
His father did not recuse himself from the case, ultimately joining a dissent when the majority ruled against the administration in February.
Justice Alito's office did not responded to requests for comment from NOTUS.