Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan testified before Congress to request a bigger security budget. The threat level is really high, Barrett said. She did not specify whether the threats come from people who read Supreme Court opinions or people who pretend to read Supreme Court opinions on Twitter.
The budget request includes higher spending for security. This makes sense. Nothing calms an angry populace like watching their tax dollars fund bulletproof SUVs for the nine people who decided corporations can pray.
Kagan joined Barrett in the testimony. Two justices with nothing in common except lifetime appointments and the shared experience of needing armed guards to buy groceries. They sat before legislators and explained that making rulings people hate has consequences. Who could have seen this coming.
The threat level metric is not publicly defined. It could mean anything. Angry emails. Credible plots. Someone left a Yelp review for the Supreme Court building. The justices want more money and they are using fear to get it, which is the most American thing a government official can do besides insider trading.
Barrett emphasized the threats are real. She would know. She has security. The rest of us have Ring doorbells and a neighbor named Dale who owns too many guns. But sure, let's redirect funds from schools and bridges so the people who overturned Roe can have a bigger perimeter.
Congress will likely approve the request. They always do. Protecting the judiciary is important, they will say, as if the judiciary has not spent decades making decisions that protect everyone except the people who now want to kill them. This is called consequences, and it turns out consequences cost money.
The hearing ended without incident. Both justices left safely. Your calls did not get filled because you were watching C-SPAN instead of the tape.
Photo by Fine Photographics on Unsplash
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