Alito Warns Congress Could 'Turn Off the Lights' at the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned on Thursday night that Congress holds the power to effectively shut down the nation's highest court by cutting off its funding, a blunt message about judicial independence delivered just one week after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

"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, speaking at the Federalist Society's annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner in Washington.

The 76-year-old justice, one of the court's most senior conservatives, framed the judiciary as the weakest of the three branches of government. Justices are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, he noted, while Congress controls the purse strings — a combination that leaves the courts exposed to political pressure.

"So, it is important to preserve the independence of the judiciary," Alito said. "If that is eliminated, then the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same."

Alito did not directly mention the midterm results or the incoming Democratic majorities. But the timing was hard to miss. Democrats have spent years pushing for changes to the court after a string of controversial decisions on abortion, presidential power and federal regulatory authority, and the party's victories last week put those debates back at the center of Washington politics.

The Constitution does protect the justices themselves: Article III, Section 1 says their compensation "shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." But Congress controls the court's appropriations, and lawmakers can squeeze the money that pays for staff, operations and facilities — the machinery that keeps the court running day to day.

That leverage is not hypothetical. In 2023, a group of Democratic senators proposed withholding $10 million in Supreme Court funding until the justices adopted stricter ethics requirements, after reports about undisclosed gifts and travel by some justices.

Alito's warning also follows an unusual move by two of his colleagues. Earlier this year, Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made a rare joint appearance on Capitol Hill to advocate for the judiciary's budget, including additional funding for security as threats against judges and court personnel have increased.

Alito used the dinner to take aim at lower courts as well, saying some judges have handed down "unjustified" orders blocking presidential policies in recent years. "They are dedicated, and they are skillful, but they're not perfect, and they make mistakes," he said. "And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers."

The justice also addressed speculation about his own future, reiterating that he is not retiring and is committed to serving through the end of the current Supreme Court term. Alito has served on the court since early 2006, after being nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, and sits on a court with a 6-3 conservative majority.

Whether Congress will test the funding power Alito described remains to be seen. No Democratic leader has proposed defunding the court since the midterms, and such a move would face steep political and constitutional obstacles. But Alito's message was clear: the independence of the judiciary, in his view, is not guaranteed by the Constitution alone — it depends on the restraint of the other two branches.