Two judges of the Supreme Court of the United States spoke on Tuesday of an increase in threats against its nine magistrates and called for an increase in financial resources to ensure their security, during a rare hearing before Congress.
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Elena Kagan, appointed in 2010 by Democrat Barack Obama, and Amy Coney Barrett, appointed in 2020 by Republican Donald Trump, were heard in the morning by a committee of the House of Representatives before a second hearing in the afternoon before a Senate committee.
These hearings on the budget of the highest American court, the first since 2019 for sitting Supreme Court judges, come as it rendered several important decisions two weeks ago, in particular the reaffirmation of the law of the soil, which President Donald Trump had tried to call into question by decree.
The two magistrates, however, did not comment on these decisions, respecting a tradition of reserve outside of their written opinions.
As the House hearing began, Republican official Dave Joyce urged committee members to “stay focused” on budget issues.
The hearing “is not intended to reconsider the opinions of the Court,” added the deputy.
Elena Kagan argued in her opening remarks for an increase in the Supreme Court’s operating budget by nearly $21 million, which would bring it to US$228 million. The increase would largely serve to strengthen security around its nine judges, for example by financing the assignment of six additional agents per magistrate.
We must “face the challenges of our time,” declared the magistrate.
Several Supreme Court justices have received death threats in recent years because of their decisions, and 2026 saw a “very considerable 38% increase in threats,” according to Supreme Court police figures cited by Elena Kagan.
“Without fear or favour”
“It is impossible to deny that we are experiencing a disturbing level of violence against those who serve at the highest levels of government,” Republican Senator Bill Hagerty said at the opening of the Senate hearing.
In May, conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett was the victim of “swatting”, the practice of making a fake emergency call to report gunshots at the homes of the targeted people, with the aim of provoking an armed response from the police.
“I didn’t expect that fulfilling this mission would put me in the position of having to explain to my children what body armor is and why I had to wear one,” she told the commission Tuesday.
“As Justice Kagan has said, federal judges across the country and the judicial branch, including at the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is very high,” the 54-year-old judge said.
The Supreme Court’s chief justice, conservative John Roberts, warned in March that the “hostility” directed toward judges across the country was “dangerous.”
“This must stop,” he insisted.
He did not then make explicit mention of Donald Trump, who increases criticism against members of the Supreme Court when decisions go against him.
In May, the Republican president explicitly attacked Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett – two of the three Supreme Court justices he himself appointed during his first term – for the “devastating blow” they allegedly dealt him by opposing his tariff policy.
Donald Trump then said he expected more “loyalty” from them.
