Supreme Court justices Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Ginsburg have announced plans to keep hiring law clerks for the next few years, which means they aren't retiring any time soon.

Ginsburg, affectionately known by her fans as the "Notorious RBG," has already hired four clerks for the October 2018 term and four clerks for the October 2019 term, which ends in June 2020, according to CNN.  The news hints that Ginsburg is planning to stay on for the coinciding terms.

Meanwhile, Kennedy's recent law clerk hires are also telling.

According to Above the Law, which first reported the law clerk news, he's selected four clerks for the October 2018 term.  The news may signal [that] the court's usual swing vote isn't planning to retire at the end of the current term as rumored.

But both Ginsburg, 84, and Justice Kennedy, 81, are very old and, even worse, in not very good health.

Ginsburg was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  During the process, she did not miss a day on the bench.  Physically weakened after the cancer treatment, Ginsburg began working with a personal trainer.

On February 5, 2009, she again underwent surgery related to pancreatic cancer.  Ginsburg's tumor was discovered at an early stage.  She was released from a New York City hospital on February 13 and returned to the bench when the Supreme Court went back into session on February 23, 2009.  On September 24, 2009, Ginsburg was hospitalized in Washington[, D.C.] for lightheadedness following an outpatient treatment for iron deficiency and was released the following day.

On November 26, 2014, she had a stent placed in her right coronary artery after experiencing discomfort while exercising in the Supreme Court gym with her personal trainer.  [Citations and links omitted.]

The situation with Justice Kennedy is not much better.

In 2005, Supreme Court [j]ustice Anthony Kennedy had a stent inserted to keep an artery open after experiencing mild chest pain.  Kennedy got a revised stent a year later.

Ginsberg is a hardcore leftist, and I like to say Kennedy is a liberal on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and conservative on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  If anything happens to either of these two justices, President Trump will be forced to select a replacement.  Right now, the court is basically 5-4 on most important issues, although sometimes that 5-4 is five liberals and four conservatives, depending on what day of the week Justice Kennedy is giving his opinion.  A new pick on the Court could really tip the balance.

Who knows what will happen?  One thing I do know:  Justice Ginsburg needs to get more sleep!

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.