Barrett, Kagan to make rare Capitol Hill appearance as Supreme Court seeks more security amid threats
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan are set to make a rare appearance on Capitol Hill next week, where they will testify on the Supreme Court's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.
Their appearance before the House Appropriations subcommittee comes just weeks after the Supreme Court concluded a highly consequential term, delivering major wins for President Donald Trump, including expanding his executive authority, while also ruling against key parts of his agenda, including his executive order restricting birthright citizenship and his Liberation Day tariffs. Barrett, who is part of the conservative supermajority, voted against Trump's use of the executive order.
The last time Supreme Court justices testified before Congress was in 2019, when Kagan, a member of the Court's liberal wing, and Justice Samuel Alito, a member of its conservative majority, appeared to discuss the Supreme Court's fiscal year 2020 budget request.
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In next year's budget, the Supreme Court is requesting a $20.5 million increase, with $14.6 million earmarked to strengthen security protections for justices and an additional $2 million to cover security costs at the justices' homes. The funding increase would cover the cost of staffing an additional 25 full-time Supreme Court Police officers.
In total, the Supreme Court is requesting a budget of $228 million for the 2027 fiscal year.
The request for additional security funding comes after Congress approved a $30 million increase for the Supreme Court's security budget in January, which is expected to last through September 2028.
At the time of the additional funding approval, the U.S. Marshals Service, which is tasked with protecting the Supreme Court, had tracked 166 threats against federal judges since Oct. 1. The year before, more than 560 threats were made against judges.
"We just want to make sure nothing happens to any of our justices," House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said at the time.
The U.S. Marshals Service began providing 24/7 security at the justices' private residences in May 2022 after the leak of the draft Dobbs opinion, which foreshadowed the Supreme Court's decision ending the constitutional right to abortion. The protection remained in place after the attempted assassination attempt against Justice Brett Kavanaugh outside his Maryland home the following month.
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And in May, Barrett was the target of an apparent swatting incident after a false report of gunshots at her Virginia home prompted a police response. Authorities quickly determined the call was a hoax after coordinating with the Supreme Court Police officers assigned to protect the residence.
Last year, authorities also investigated a bomb threat targeting Barrett's sister at her South Carolina home. The reported pipe bomb in her mailbox was also determined to be a hoax.
While justices have long been subjected to death threats, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his 2024 year-end report that threats against federal judges have more than tripled over the past decade. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated more than 1,000 serious threats during the previous five years.
