Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned on Thursday night that a Democrat-controlled Congress could effectively shut down the nation's highest court by cutting its funding, raising fears for the judiciary's independence a week after last week's midterm elections.
"Congress can turn off the lights at the Supreme Court and stop everything from happening if they want to defund their activities. And there are many, many, many other things that they can do, or at least try to do," Alito, 76, told the Federalist Society's annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner in Washington.
The conservative justice argued that the judiciary is the weakest of the three branches of government: its members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, while Congress controls the purse strings. "If the independence of the judiciary is eliminated, the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same," he warned. "If you defund the courts, you destroy judicial independence."
While the Constitution protects justices from having their salaries reduced while they remain in office, Congress controls the court's appropriations and can influence funding for its staff, operations and facilities. In 2023, a group of Democratic senators proposed withholding $10 million in Supreme Court funding until the justices adopted stricter ethics requirements.
Alito did not directly reference the midterm results or the incoming Democratic majorities, which take control of the House in January. Democrats have spent years pushing for changes to the court following a series of controversial decisions on abortion, presidential power and federal regulatory authority. The court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.
Alito also took aim at lower-court judges who have issued orders blocking presidential actions in recent years. "They are dedicated, and they are skillful, but they're not perfect, and they make mistakes," he said. "And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers." He also reiterated that he is not retiring and is committed to serving through the end of the current Supreme Court term.
Earlier this year, Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made an unusual appearance on Capitol Hill to advocate for the judiciary's budget, including additional funding for security as threats against judges and court personnel have increased.
