Durbin Presses Justices Kagan, Barrett On Judicial Security In Rare Congressional Appearance

July 14, 2026 Durbin Presses Justices Kagan, Barrett On Judicial Security In Rare Congressional Appearance WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, pressed Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett on judicial security in a rare Congressional appearance. This is the first time Supreme Court justices have appeared before Congress since 2019 and before the Senate since 2011. “Tomorrow we're considering Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination, who has said of the courts that they are full of ‘rogue activist judges,’ repeatedly claiming the administration is ‘at war’ with the federal judiciary. That kind of rhetoric, I think, is unacceptable on either side of the table, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. It just inflames people and has them thinking in terms of violence that may reach physical violence if we're not careful. So, I want to add to the chorus that violence is unacceptable,” began Durbin. Durbin then invoked the case of Northern District of Illinois Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, whose mother and husband were killed. “We had some terrible incidents in the Northern District of Illinois not that long ago, where one of the federal district court judges had a disgruntled person that appeared in their court, then went to her home and took the life of her mother and husband. It was a horrible incident. Since then, I've done my best to try to provide the resources, not just for that court, but for the courts across the country… is it your impression, it is mine, that speaking to judges, they often lament the fact that they're waiting for the GSA to respond to security measures in their courts, court buildings?” asked Durbin. “Yes, and I think that's part of their budget request… I served with Judge Lefkow when I was on the Seventh Circuit, and I think precisely because of those sorts of things, yes, it is my understanding that the lower federal courts are also in great need of security funding and have been pushing for that in their courthouses and through GSA as well,” replied Barrett. “We're in a bit of a different position, because we don't use GSA. We're under the Capitol Architect and have done very well with the Architect of the Capitol, that office has always been very attentive to our needs. But lower federal courts are reliant on GSA, and I know have some significant concerns,” said Kagan. “Very much so. It's interesting. A few of the judges came to Capitol Hill to speak to Members, and each time they would speak to one of the Senators about this situation in their courthouses, they got the same response: ‘Where do we sign up for going a different route, more efficient route, for a quicker response when it comes to security?’ And I just say that I think this is going to fall in our jurisdiction here in the future, and I hope we take it seriously. I thank you both for being here today,” concluded Durbin. Video of Durbin’s remarks is available here . Audio of Durbin’s remarks is available here . Footage of Durbin’s remarks is available here for TV Stations. Reporting found that USMS has seen a spike in threats against federal judges. One report identified more than 600 posts on social media and right-leaning message boards since February 2025 targeting family members of judges who ruled against the Trump Administration—with the posts viewed more than 200 million times. Another report described federal judges and their family members receiving anonymous deliveries to their homes intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge’s address or their family members’ addresses. Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Esther Salas’s son, who was murdered at the family’s home by a former litigant. The spike in threats coincides with escalating, threatening language by President Trump and his allies, including calls for impeaching judges who don’t rule in the President’s favor. Durbin has urged the Justice Department and FBI to investigate the ongoing and increasing threats against federal judges. When Durbin was Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act . The legislation provided additional intelligence analysts and deputy Marshals to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and allowed judges to remove sensitive personal information from government websites and private publications. -30- Print Email Share Tweet