US Supreme Court seeks $25.4 million funding boost for security, cyber protection
By Nate Raymond
March 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is asking Congress to provide an additional $25.4 million to further boost physical and cyber security for the court, including by expanding protective services for the nine justices' residences and their families.
The proposal was included as part of an overall $9.7 billion budget request released on Wednesday by the federal judiciary that would provide funding for the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal court system for the fiscal year that begins on October 1.
Of that, $204.5 million in discretionary funding would go to the Supreme Court, including $14.6 million to expand the security activities of its in-house security force, the Supreme Court Police, by funding an additional six agents per justice and an administrative support position.
The funding would also cover the cost of 25 officers who would enhance security at the Supreme Court's building; four additional administrative positions to support the Supreme Court Police's recent growth; and travel to provide security to the justices when they are outside of Washington, D.C.
Another $2 million would fund a new, regional command post the court says is needed to coordinate assignments and protection coverage and allow the Supreme Court Police to improve reaction time in case of an emergency.
The Supreme Court is also seeking $2.3 million more to bolster cybersecurity and $6.5 million in new funding to support the design of a facility for its building to screen visitors to address recommendations related to physical security assessments, the budget document says.
The rest of the judiciary is seeking $920.9 million for security, up 3.2% from the 2026 fiscal year, saying incidents of significant concern to judges are on pace to rise this year after jumping 57% in 2025 based on U.S. Marshals Service data.
The Supreme Court's budget request said its own proposed security-related funding boost is needed to address "increasing risks and an earlier transition of residential protection from the U.S. Marshals Service to Supreme Court Police."
Congress in 2022 approved legislation to expand police protection to the families of the justices and senior officers of the court following the leak of a draft of the 6-3 conservative majority's ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.
The draft and final ruling prompted protests outside justices' homes. A Californian was last year sentenced to more than eight years in prison after admitting to trying to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 after arriving outside his home.
An additional $30 million to bolster security for the justices has been held up in the U.S. Senate, where the money had been tucked into a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that has yet to be passed as Democrats push for immigration enforcement reforms, leading to a partial government shutdown.
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