Attorney General Skrmetti Urges Congress to Fully Fund Supreme Court Security

Attorney General Skrmetti Urges Congress to Fully Fund Supreme Court Security

Attorney General Skrmetti leads a letter urging Congress to fully fund the U.S. Supreme Court's Fiscal Year 2027 security request, warning that threats against the Justices and their families have become a serious and escalating danger. In the bipartisan letter to congressional leaders, the attorneys general called for the resources necessary to protect the Justices, their families, and the Supreme Court as an institution and also emphasized that the Court can fulfill its constitutional role only when its Justices are able to exercise judicial independence without fear or favor.

"Threats of violence against our judges and their families are attacks on the independence of the judiciary and the stability of our constitutional order," said Attorney General Skrmetti. "The criminals who threaten our Supreme Court Justices are political arsonists who despise America's democratic processes and want to drag us into the fires of anarchy. Congress should fully fund the Court's security request so that the Justices can decide cases based on the law, without fear for their lives and their families."

The request comes as authorities document a sharp rise in threats against federal judges. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, "security incidents of significant concern" for judges spiked by 57 percent in FY 2025. Recent incidents have underscored the danger: In 2022, a gunman traveled to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's neighborhood with the stated intent to assassinate him in his home. In 2020, an assassin murdered Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of New Jersey, while attempting to kill Mr. Anderl's mother.

The Supreme Court's FY 2027 request includes $14.6 million to expand personal protection for the Justices as well as additional personnel to strengthen security at the Supreme Court building. It also includes $2 million for an off-site command post to coordinate residential protection for the Justices.

The coalition acknowledged that Congress faces difficult spending decisions, but it stressed that protecting the Court safeguards not only the Justices and their families but also the security and stability of the nation's constitutional system. The letter is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Attorney General Skrmetti signed the letter along with the attorneys general of Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Read the letter.