Supreme Court asks Congress for $19M to bolster security as 'serious threats' ... trends now
View
comments
The Supreme Court is asking Congress for another $19 million for security just as it issued a decision that will keep Donald Trump on the primary ballot in all states.
The money would be used to assign justices personal security due to 'evolving' threats.
The money is part of a $9.4 billion budget request sent out last week for the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal judiciary in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations, which are supposed to be passed by October 1.
Included in the $19 million request is $13.6 million to expand the Supreme Court Police, its in-house force, and $5.8 million to allow that force to take over the task of protecting justices at their homes, which is currently done by the US Marshalls Service.
Eric Lamar, right, of Washington, DC, stands in protest outside Supreme Court Monday
The security-related measures are part of a request for a 21 percent increase in funding to $146.3 million in fiscal year 2025, at a time when conservatives are demanding the federal budget is cut.
The US Marshals Service reports that serious threats to the high court doubled between 2021 and 2023, going from 224 to 457.
The rest of the federal judiciary is seeking $805.9 million for court security, citing 'significant increase in threats against federal judges.'
Last week lawmakers passed a fourth stopgap funding bill to work out a spending plan for the fiscal year that began in
