[queenkathy]

You're kidding! Bush could recess appoint Alito

[hobbes1]

Yes, he would still need to be confirmed at some point, but he can put him there.

[Dane]

From a Slate article.

That special power has been construed by many presidents to extend to vacancies in the Supreme Court. The first recess appointment to the court occurred in 1795 when President Washington appointed John Rutledge chief justice while the Senate was in recess. Since then, 11 Supreme Court justices have been put on the bench in the same way—including Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was appointed by President Eisenhower in 1953.