Justice Thomas returns to Supreme Court bench to hear oral arguments following illness

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has returned to the bench following an illness and hospitalization that had kept him from work for roughly a month. 

Thomas, 73, appeared Monday in person for oral arguments on several cases.

The conservative jurist had been hospitalized at Sibley Memorial Hospital, in Washington, D.C. on March 18, where he was treated for an infection and discharged a week later.

His first post-hospital public appearance was April 8, when he posed for a photo-op with Herschel Walker, a Republican running for the Senate seat in Georgia. 

A court spokesperson said Thomas has flu-like symptoms but did not have COVID-19. 

Thomas' illness and subsequent absence coincided with the public disclosure and subsequent controversy over wife Ginni Thomas' communication with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows round the time of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The messages were included in documents the Trump White House was made to hand over to the congressional panel investigating January 6. 

Thomas has previously ruled in favor of the Trump administration when it argued against handing over documents to the special panel. 

A wave of critics demanded that Thomas recuse himself from the case and any January 6-related cases moving forward because of the direct impact rulings may have on his wife.