Justices Kagan and Barrett demand more Supreme Court security funding in rare appearance before Congress

Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered an unusually personal plea for additional security funding for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, using a rare hearing before Congress to address for the first time personal threats that have been directed against her and her family.

"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 told a House appropriations subcommittee.

The judiciary has requested nearly $921 million for security overall, a $29 million increase compared to last year, for frontline security forces at federal courthouses. The ask includes an increase of nearly $15 million to make members of the Supreme Court Police available to protect the justices and their families, including at their homes. It also includes $6 million for a planned structure in which to conduct security screening before visitors enter the Supreme Court building.

"It's entirely self-policing," complained Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. "Every other body has that," DeLauro said of an enforcement mechanism. "It's just the Supreme Court that doesn't."

While acknowledging the practical difficulties, Kagan said that she would support a code of ethics for the high court with some type of enforcement mechanism. Barrett said that she wasn't as sure. "I'm less certain," Barrett said, while adding that she was "fully committed to the code."

"I will say that's an extremely difficult question for a pretty obvious reason," Kagan said. "I don't think that you'd want an enforcement system that is controlled by the executive branch or by the legislature."

Security incidents involving judges that the Marshals Service classified as of "significant concern" jumped 57% in 2025.