Supreme Court Justices Press Congress for Security Funding Amid 38% Surge in Threats
Supreme Court security budget threats
In a rare appearance on Capitol Hill, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before congressional subcommittees on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, to advocate for a significant increase in the court’s security budget. The justices warned that the high court is facing a “substantial 38% annual increase” in threats, following a 25% surge the previous year.
”Very Close Indeed”
During the hearing, Justice Kagan emphasized the personal gravity of the current threat environment. “For some of us, those threats have come very close indeed,” Kagan told lawmakers. “And all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize”.
Justice Barrett provided a sobering look at the impact these threats have had on her own family, recounting a “swatting” incident at her home in May 2026 and describing the difficulty of explaining to her children why she was required to wear a bulletproof vest following the 2022 leak of the Dobbs opinion.
Budget and Security Infrastructure
The Supreme Court is seeking roughly $230 million for the upcoming fiscal year—an approximate 10% increase from the current budget. According to the justices, the requested funds are primarily directed toward:
Expanded Protection: Increasing personal security details for each justice and bolstering residential security.
Operational Security: Enhancing threat assessment capabilities and cybersecurity measures.
Infrastructure: Upgrading security at the Supreme Court building and transitioning toward managing residential security entirely in-house.
Justice Kagan noted that while the court’s budget has grown by an average of 15% annually over the last five years, nearly all of that growth has been driven by security needs rather than inflationary costs.
