Summary
- Justice Samuel Alito warned the Federalist Society on Thursday that Congress could defund the Supreme Court and halt its operations.
- Alito told more than 1,000 attendees that preserving judicial independence is essential to maintaining the Constitution.
- His remarks came after Democrats won Congress while some lawmakers proposed court expansion, term limits, ethics rules and investigations of justices.
Justice Samuel Alito warned that Congress “can turn off the lights at the Supreme Court” through its control of the court’s funding.
Alito spoke to Federalist Society members on Thursday, just more than a week after Democrats gained majorities in Congress and some members have issued subpoena threats to justices.
“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 said Thursday in widely reported remarks at the Federalist Society’s Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, named for the late conservative justice.
“So, it is important to preserve the independence of the judiciary,” the justice said to a crowd of more than 1,000, according to The Hill. “If that is eliminated, then the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same.”
The expected chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., were coordinating an effort to investigate and subpoena Supreme Court justices in the next term, Whitehouse said in August.
Many Democrat members of Congress and candidates have floated “court packing” proposals to expand the number of justices to 13 and threatened to impose term limits. Other Democrat lawmakers suggested withholding funding to pressure the high court to adopt ethics reforms.
Several Democrat candidates were elected with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America; the party’s platform calls for amending the Constitution to make the executive branch and judiciary appointed by and subordinate to Congress rather than existing as co-equal branches.
Alito on Thursday also criticized lower court judges for what he called “unjustified” rulings that blocked presidential policies in recent years. Several district courts imposed nationwide injunctions on executive policies.
“They are dedicated and they are skillful, but they’re not perfect and they make mistakes,” Alito said. “And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers.”
Alito, appointed by President George W. Bush, is perhaps most known for writing the high court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
He also said the judiciary is the least powerful branch and is “vulnerable” to Congress and the executive. A president nominates judges, the Senate confirms them, and Congress controls the court’s budget.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
