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July 14, 2026 / 12:26 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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Washington — Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett urged Congress on Tuesday to provide additional funding to enhance protection for the justices as they face a rise in threats, with Kagan warning that the "threats have come very close" for some members of the high court.Kagan and Barrett made a rare appearance before a House subcommittee to testify about the Supreme Court's budget request for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The pair will also appear before a Senate panel later Tuesday, just weeks after the Supreme Court finished handing down decisions to wrap its latest term.The Supreme Court is seeking more than $228 million from congressional appropriators, an increase of more than $20 million. Part of the court's funding request includes an additional $14.6 million to expand security for the justices provided by the Supreme Court Police, which would allow for an additional six agents per member of the court, according to budget documents. The money would also be used for travel when the justices are outside of the Washington, D.C., region. Each justice is currently assigned between four and eight officers as part of their security details, Barrett said, but that may increase if a member of the court is facing a particular threat or is participating in more public events.Kagan told lawmakers that the recent increases in the court's budget have been "almost entirely" for security expenses, since the Supreme Court's in-house police force took over residential security for the justices from the U.S. Marshals Service."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. "But, as the chief justice has said, all members of the court continue to do their jobs as they believe legally right, adjudicating cases without fear or favor."
