Clarence Thomas didn't show up for work today

• Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday was absent from oral arguments without explanation.

• John Roberts said Thomas would take part in the day's cases via transcripts and briefs, per The AP.

• Thomas, 75, is the eldest member of the court and a key member of its influential conservative bloc.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday was absent from oral arguments and the court didn't offer an explanation as to why he wouldn't be present.

After the court sat for arguments in the morning, Chief Justice John Roberts said Thomas would be absent and would take part in cases through transcripts and briefs, according to The Associated Press.

Thomas, 75, did not take part in arguments remotely, an option that justices sometimes use when they're sick or are unable to physically come to the Supreme Court building, per the report.

Business Insider has reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.

In 2022, Thomas was hospitalized with an infection after he experienced "flu-like symptoms."

Thomas is the longest-tenured associate justice on the court, having been nominated in 1991 by then-President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate later that year.

With the appointments of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Thomas has also seen his judicial influence catapult as the eldest member of the court's six-member conservative bloc.

Last year, ProPublica first reported that Thomas had taken luxury vacations funded by the billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow for more than 20 years without disclosing the trips.

In response, Thomas said at the time that he was advised that it wasn't necessary to report "this sort of personal hospitality."

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