The Supreme Court's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget is set to be presented to Congress next week, with Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations subcommittee.
The Court is requesting a $20.5 million increase, with $14.6 million allocated to strengthen security protections for justices and an additional $2 million to cover security costs at their homes.
The funding increase would cover the cost of staffing an additional 25 full-time Supreme Court Police officers, bringing the total number of officers to 125.
The request for additional security funding comes after Congress approved a $30 million increase for the Supreme Court's security budget in January, which is expected to last through September 2028.
The U.S. Marshals Service, which is tasked with protecting the Supreme Court, has tracked 166 threats against federal judges since October 1, following a significant increase in threats over the past decade.
Chief Justice John Roberts has written that threats against federal judges have more than tripled over the past decade, with the U.S. Marshals Service investigating over 1,000 serious threats in the previous five years.
The Supreme Court's security measures have been heightened in recent years, including the provision of 24/7 security at justices' private residences since May 2022, following the leak of a draft opinion that foreshadowed the end of the constitutional right to abortion.
In the past year, authorities have investigated several threats against justices, including a bomb threat targeting Justice Barrett's sister in South Carolina, which was determined to be a hoax.
