Escalation: Kagan and Barrett testify on Supreme Court budget

On July 14, 2026, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before Congress in Washington, urging lawmakers to increase security funding for the Supreme Court in a rare Capitol Hill appearance.

Barrett told members "the threat level is really high" and described a swatting incident targeting her home, while Kagan joined her in detailing rising threats facing the justices.

The justices appeared before congressional committees weighing the court’s budget request and pressed for higher allocations to security, while fielding wide‑ranging questions from lawmakers.

It was the first time since 2019 that sitting Supreme Court justices had appeared before lawmakers, amid what multiple outlets describe as escalating threats against the court and its members.

Outlets differed in sizing the ask: The Daily Record cited a roughly 10% increase in the court’s overall budget, while others including Reuters, NBC, CBS, CNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, ABC, CNN and the ABA Journal reported a significant security boost without specifying a total.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources