Susan Collins Blasts Political Attacks on SCOTUS, as Barrett, Kagan Ask Senate for Funding Boost

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins called out the top Senate Democrat and other public officials for potentially encouraging violence against Supreme Court justices.

Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, warned about heated rhetoric during a Tuesday hearing on the Supreme Court’s budget request that featured testimony from Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan.

“It’s appalling to me that some of the rhetoric is coming from public officials on both sides of the aisle who should know better than to levy personal and political attacks against the judiciary and the court specifically,” Collins said.

While she didn’t name Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., she referenced comments that matched his 2020 speech delivered in front of the Supreme Court building, warning Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh about future rulings.

“For example, a senator stood in front of the Supreme Court building and called out two members by name, saying that they had released the whirlwind, and that they will pay the price,” Collins said. “Other public officials have called the court corrupt, out of control, and serving an extremist agenda.”

The Supreme Court is requesting that Congress appropriate $228.4 million for fiscal year 2027, an almost 10% increase from the $207.8 million appropriated for fiscal year 2026. Much of that funding would go toward security. Several senators on Tuesday brought up threats against justices, as well as a 2022 foiled assassination attempt against Kavanaugh.

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The justices will be transitioning from protection by the U.S. Marshals Service to increased protection by Supreme Court security.

“The Marshals was always designed to be temporary. They couldn’t continue to staff us. In fact, one reason for our supplemental request, that was somewhat unexpected, is that the Marshals unexpectedly told us that they would not be able to continue providing the residential protection, and that they were going to end it quicker than we’d anticipated,” Barrett told senators. “We had always wanted to take it over ourselves, but we were forced to do that on a quicker timeline.”

Collins did not specifically cite other senators regarding comments about the court’s alleged “corruption” or an “extremist agenda.” In 2024, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the Supreme Court “brazenly corrupt.” In 2024, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, “Behind closed doors, billionaire sugar daddies give Supreme Court justices lavish gifts and push through an extremist agenda against the rights of the people.”

At Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., countered that President Donald Trump also has used harsh rhetoric against the Supreme Court when the majority ruled against his executive order imposing sweeping tariffs.

“He said disgrace to our nation, fools, lapdogs for the RINOs, and radical left Democrats, and disloyal to the Constitution,” Reed said, citing Trump. “He was describing the Supreme Court. … On March 15, he posted our country was unnecessarily ransacked by the United States Supreme Court, which is little more than a weaponized and unjust political organization.”

Kagan said that verbal attacks from members of either party pose a danger.

“Wherever these come from, and whatever political figure says them, whatever party that political figure is a member of, the statements are really unhelpful,” Kagan said. “They are dangerous in terms of individual justices’ security; they’re not appropriate in the way to treat a co-equal branch of government.”