Justices pitch lawmakers on enhanced security in rare Hill appearance
Summary
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before Congress to ask for a larger budget focused on improving their security. They explained that threats against justices have increased recently and shared personal stories about the impact of these dangers on their lives.Key Facts
- This was the first time since 2019 that Supreme Court justices testified before Congress.
- The Supreme Court is requesting a budget increase to $228 million, a 10% rise from last year, mostly for enhanced security.
- Threats against Supreme Court justices rose by 38% last year and 25% the year before.
- Justice Barrett said she wore a bulletproof vest and brought it home, explaining it was hard to tell her son why.
- Barrett also confirmed she was the target of a "swatting" incident, where false emergency calls bring law enforcement to a home.
- Currently, each justice has 4 to 8 security agents; the court wants to add 6 more per justice and 25 officers for the building.
- The court also requested funds to start planning an off-site visitor screening area to improve building security.
- Justices highlighted concerns about staff burnout because many security agents work long and repeated shifts.
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