Thomas Again Absent From Courtroom for Supreme Court Session (1)

Justice Clarence Thomas was again absent from the courtroom for a U.S. Supreme Court argument, participating remotely Monday even after he was released from the hospital on Friday after a weeklong stay.

Thomas 73, missed three days of arguments last week while being treated at a Washington hospital for an infection. Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said Monday she didn’t have any update on Thomas’ condition.

His illness has coincided with controversy over his participation in cases involving the 2020 presidential election even though his wife, Ginni Thomas, was pushing former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff to do more to overturn his loss to Joe Biden.

Thomas asked several questions during the first of two cases the court is hearing Monday, involving locomotive safety.

Thomas is the second-oldest justice, behind only Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the court’s current term. Thomas, a 1991 appointee of President George H.W. Bush, is the longest-serving justice and an anchor of the court’s conservative wing.

(Updates to reflect in fourth paragraph that Thomas asking questions.)

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Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

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Elizabeth Wasserman at ewasserman2@bloomberg.net

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