Kagan and Barrett to Testify on Supreme Court’s Fiscal 2027 Budget Before Appropriations Panels

Supreme Court Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett are scheduled to make a rare appearance before Congress next week, testifying about the court’s fiscal 2027 budget request before House and Senate appropriations panels.

The justices are set to appear Tuesday, July 14, at 10 a.m. before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and again at 2 p.m. before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. House and Senate hearing notices confirm the appearances, and the House notice says witnesses will participate “by invitation only,” indicating the justices were invited rather than subpoenaed.

According to the federal judiciary’s official budget summary, the Supreme Court is seeking about $225.1 million in discretionary funding for fiscal 2027. That includes $207.039 million for salaries and expenses and $18.093 million for care of the building and grounds.

The request places particular emphasis on security and technology. Among the notable items are funding for 25 additional Supreme Court police officers, a $2 million off-site residential security office and $2.3 million for new cybersecurity and information technology positions, listed as 12 full-time equivalent employees.

The hearings are not about a pending Supreme Court case or the court’s rulings. They are part of Congress’ annual role in funding the federal judiciary. Even so, public testimony by sitting Supreme Court justices is uncommon, and any Capitol Hill appearance by members of the court tends to draw attention for that reason alone.

House Appropriations Democrats publicly announced the planned testimony on July 7. The last comparable public House budget hearing involving sitting justices was in 2019, when Kagan and Justice Samuel Alito testified.

Lawmakers say the testimony matters because Congress approves the court’s funding each year. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a July 7 committee press release: “Supreme Court justices have a duty, just as cabinet secretaries and agency heads, to answer our questions and provide information to the American people relevant to their budget requests.”