WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett are scheduled to testify Tuesday before a House Appropriations subcommittee on the Supreme Court’s budget request, the first time sitting justices have testified before Congress since 2019.
The hearing is less than a month after the Supreme Court wrapped up a high-profile term with several major rulings. While members of Congress may try to question the justices about recent rulings, the hearing is expected to focus primarily on the court’s request for more money to beef up security measures.
The Supreme Court is seeking roughly $228 million for the next fiscal year, an increase of about 10% over the current budget. And about $15 million of that request would go to increasing the personal security of the justices, adding six protective agents for each of the court's members.
The plan also calls for approximately $2 million to set up a residential security facility off-site to improve emergency response times and increase the number of Supreme Court police officers.
The call for funding comes amid continuing concerns about threats against members of the judiciary.
The U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal judges, said it received 564 threats against judges in the federal fiscal year that ended in September, up from the previous year. Those figures include threats against judges throughout the federal judiciary, including members of the Supreme Court.
Justice Barrett is among those targeted. Authorities responded to a false emergency call, also known as a “swatting” incident, at her home in May. Authorities later called the report a fabrication. In 2024, Barrett’s sister was also the target of a bomb threat in Charleston, South Carolina, but no explosive device was found.
Security concerns at the Supreme Court have persisted recently. A California man was arrested in 2022 near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with weapons and zip ties after the leak of a draft opinion that eventually overturned Roe v. Wade, authorities said.
Chief Justice John Roberts has repeatedly warned of the growing threats against judges. Roberts said at a judicial event in March that while criticism of court decisions is a normal part of public debate, personal threats and intimidation directed at judges are unacceptable and dangerous to the judicial system.
The hearing is expected to give lawmakers a chance to look at the court's security needs as they review its budget request for the next fiscal year.
