Supreme Court Justices Testify on Budget Amid Heightened Security Concerns

Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett will appear before House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on Tuesday, the first such testimony by sitting justices since 2019. The court seeks a budget of over $207 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, roughly a 7 % increase that includes $14.6 million earmarked for expanded personal security and additional building-security officers. The request follows a term that produced high-profile rulings on presidential power, birthright citizenship and tariffs.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

Recent years have seen a sharp rise in threats against federal judges. The U.S. Marshals Service reports increased incidents, including a 2022 armed attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a May 2024 swatting call targeting Justice Barrett’s Northern Virginia home. In 2022 the Supreme Court’s police force assumed 24/7 residential protection duties previously handled by the Marshals, a transition completed on May 27, according to spokesperson Brady McCarron. The court’s $6.5 million proposal for a visitor-screening facility would move public entry outside the building, mirroring the Capitol’s visitor center model.

New York Times

House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) emphasized the need for transparency, asking, “If they cannot tell us what they’re about, what the money is for, why then do we feel obliged to say OK, unseen, no oversight at all?” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) signaled intent to question the justices on congressional checks on the executive, noting the judiciary’s co-equal status. President Donald Trump has publicly criticized judges who oppose his agenda, labeling them “fools and lapdogs.”

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

Advocacy groups argue the court’s expanding power warrants greater accountability. Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, said, “They’ve had this incredible amount of power… With greater power comes greater responsibility, and I think part of that is oversight.” Law professor David Super warned that the hearing could spark a broader public debate that the court might find hard to ignore.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

• “The real question I think is, on what do they try to draw them out? And potentially, do they start a conversation in this hearing that gets legs and becomes such a major feature of public discourse that the court and the chief can’t completely ignore?” — David Super, Georgetown University Law Center.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

• “If they cannot tell us what they’re about, what the money is for, why then do we feel obliged to say OK, unseen, no oversight at all?” — Rosa DeLauro, House Appropriations ranking member.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

• “They’re a co-equal branch of government and I think the legislature owes them great deference in terms of their needs and the needs of the judicial branch,” — Steny Hoyer, top Democrat on the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)

• “They’ve had this incredible amount of power,” — Gabe Roth, executive director, Fix the Court.

Kagan, Barrett to Defend Budget as Hill Tensions Simmer (2)