NOW PLAYING
Two Supreme Court justices testified side-by-side before Congress on Tuesday, telling lawmakers that they need more money to defend against the persistent rise in threats targeting themselves and their families.
It was a rare showing from Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett, two female justices appointed by presidents of different parties who often rule along separate ideological lines.
Their appearance also marked the first time since 2019 that any Supreme Court justice has testified publicly on the court’s annual budget request, an occurrence that has become sparser over the past decade.
The justices overall received a warm reception from members of Congress, a notable break from the heated clashes often seen during public hearings with high-ranking public officials.
Their testimony comes just weeks after the Supreme Court handed down its final opinions of the term, which included rulings that upheld birthright citizenship and expanded the scope of presidential power.
“A great deal has changed over the last seven years,” Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, said during his opening remarks. “New technologies have become accessible for bad actors. The threat environment facing our federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, has evolved substantially.”
The court is asking Congress for more than $225 million in its fiscal year 2027 budget, a nearly $20 million boost from the previous year. The request includes roughly $18 million for maintaining the Supreme Court building and its grounds and tens of millions of additional dollars to bolster the high court’s security apparatus.
The high court has beefed up its security operations following the extraordinary leak of a draft opinion in the 2022 Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion.
Abortion rights activists staged protests outside the homes of the conservative justices, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh was targeted in an assassination attempt at his Maryland home over the decision. An individual, Sophie Roske, is serving an eight-year prison sentence after being convicted in connection with that attempt.
There have been 370 total reported threats to federal judges as of July 1 stemming from more than 500 protective investigations, according to data from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). Last fiscal year, there were 564 threats directed toward judges across the country.
Kagan testified that the Supreme Court Police are anticipating a “very substantial” 38 percent annual increase in threats directed toward the nine justices.
“For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” she said.
Barrett told lawmakers the threat level is “really high,” offering a personal perspective on the tangible impact those attacks have on the judiciary.
“They have required me and my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” she said, recounting her then-12-year-old child’s reaction when she came home with a bulletproof vest after the Dobbs leak.
“I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett added.
Police also responded to Barrett’s Virginia home in late May for reports of a “suspicious noise of gunshots” that was later determined to be false.
“They’re meant to intimidate, and they’re meant to harass,” Barrett said, referring to so-called “swatting” incidents.
The budget request calls for an additional $14.6 million for the Supreme Court Police for “protective activities” related to the justices’ homes and their families, as well as $2 million for an off-site residential security office.
The justices also want to see more officers on their personal security details, which consist of four- to eight-person teams.
“Over time, we’d like that detail number to increase,” Kagan said in response to a question from Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa).
Another $6.5 million would be set aside for the creation of an exterior facility to screen visitors before they enter the Supreme Court building.
“Right now, visitors walk into the court, and that’s where they’re checked. That’s where they are sent through a magnetometer and, you know, checked for weapons and so forth,” Kagan said in response to a question from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) about the plans.
“And just as the Capitol decided that for security reasons it wished to create a visitors center that was off the main premises, so all the appropriate security checks could be done off premises, that’s what we’re looking into as well,” she added.
Several Senate Democrats argued that the personal attacks leveled at federal judges by public officials, including President Trump, have contributed to the heightened threat environment.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) read portions of statements Trump has made about the court in recent months, including a Truth Social post in which the president said the country had been “unnecessarily ransacked” the justices after they struck down his sweeping tariff agenda.
“If there’s anyone in the country that commands more attention, it’s the president, and I think that behavior is very dangerous to the court system,” Reed said.
Kagan defended the right to criticize as “fair game,” but cautioned against crossing the line into “intimidation.”
“Whatever political figure says them, whatever party that political figure is a member of, these statements are really unhelpful,” she said. “They’re dangerous in terms of individual justice’s security, and they’re not appropriate.”
There is also a need to improve cybersecurity, the justices told lawmakers, pointing to the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence and the potential vulnerabilities that exist within the current system.
“Cybersecurity attacks have been up by magnitudes year after year,” Barrett said during the House hearing. “We haven’t suffered the kind of paralyzing attacks that some of the lower courts have, but in seeing that, that has caused us to try to ramp up very quickly.”
The budget requests an additional $2.3 million to fund 12 new cybersecurity positions.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Amy Coney Barrett Ashley Hinson Brett Kavanaugh Dave Joyce David Joyce Elena Kagan Susan CollinsCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments: Link copiedMore Court Battles News
See All
House 5 takeaways as Supreme Court Justices Barrett and Kagan testify on Capitol Hill by Niall Stanage 41 minutes ago House / 41 minutes ago 
