Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned this week that Congress has the power to effectively “turn off the lights” at the nation's highest court by cutting its funding, remarks that came less than two weeks after Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Alito, 76, a conservative who joined the court in 2006, spoke Thursday at the Federalist Society's annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner in Washington before a crowd of more than 1,000 conservative lawyers. He said Congress could stop the court's activities if it chose to defund them, and that there are many other things lawmakers could do, or at least try to do. For that reason, he said, it is important to preserve the independence of the judiciary.
He described the judiciary as the least powerful branch of government and said it is vulnerable to both Congress and the executive. A president nominates judges, the Senate confirms them and Congress controls the court's budget.
The Constitution bars Congress from reducing the pay of federal judges while they remain in office, but other costs, including clerks' salaries and building upkeep, depend on congressional funding. The Constitution does not guarantee any branch a particular operating budget, which is the mechanism behind Alito's phrase. He was not announcing that Congress is moving to shut the court down.
Some Democratic lawmakers have floated proposals in recent months to expand the court, set term limits and tighten ethics rules, and some have discussed using Congress' spending power as leverage over the justices. Others have threatened subpoenas to members of the court.
Alito did not mention the midterm elections, the incoming Democratic majorities or President Donald Trump's calls to impeach judges who have ruled against him.
He did turn his criticism toward lower-court judges. He said they are dedicated and skillful but not perfect and make mistakes, and that in some instances he thinks they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers. He called orders blocking presidents' policies in recent years unjustified.
The remarks were among Alito's rare public appearances. The Federalist Society is a conservative legal organization, and the annual dinner honors the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who served on the court for three decades.
Reports have also noted that Alito recently indicated he plans to remain on the court, a decision that could complicate any effort by Trump to replace him with another conservative justice.
