Kagan and Barrett set for rare House testimony on Supreme Court budget

Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett are scheduled to appear before a House Appropriations subcommittee on July 14 to discuss the court’s fiscal 2027 budget request, according to an agenda released Tuesday. The appearance would mark the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019, when Kagan and Justice Samuel Alito addressed the court’s budget before the same panel.

The hearing is set for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which handles funding matters for the federal judiciary among other areas. The agenda identifies the session as a budget hearing, placing the court’s administrative funding needs, rather than its recent legal decisions, at the center of the proceeding.

Kagan joined the court in 2010 after her nomination by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Barrett has served since 2020, following her nomination by President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Hearing follows closely watched term

The scheduled testimony will take place about two weeks after the Supreme Court released its final opinions for the 2025-26 term. The justices are not expected to discuss those decisions during the budget hearing, according to CNBC.

The term included a ruling that upheld the constitutional right to birthright citizenship after Trump sought to limit it through an executive order. Kagan and Barrett both joined the majority in that case.

The court also ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that Trump could not remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her lawsuit contesting her dismissal continues in federal district court. Kagan joined the majority in that case, while Barrett was in dissent.

In another separation-of-powers case, Barrett joined the majority and Kagan dissented in a decision holding that Trump had authority to dismiss Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. That ruling expanded presidential power to remove members of agencies described as nominally independent.

Security has been a recurring budget issue

The last budget appearance by Supreme Court justices before the subcommittee came in 2019. In prepared remarks then, Alito thanked lawmakers for providing additional security funding for the court and said the money was being deployed after a broad review by security specialists.

Concerns about the safety of the court’s nine justices increased after May 2022, when a draft opinion written by Alito leaked before the court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

Following the leak, protests took place outside the homes of Alito, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, three conservative members of the court. Security arrangements for the justices were increased after the leak.

On June 8, 2022, Nicholas Roske, then 26, was arrested near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home while carrying a handgun, knife, pepper spray and burglary tools, according to court records. Authorities said Roske told police he had traveled from California intending to kill Kavanaugh and was upset about the expected reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Roske pleaded guilty in April 2025 to attempting to kill Kavanaugh. The Justice Department said he was sentenced that October to eight years and one month in prison.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.