Alito: "Congress can turn off the Supreme Court's lights by cutting the budget"

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned at the Federalist Society’s Antonin Scalia memorial dinner on November 12 that Congress could “turn off the lights” at the Supreme Court by cutting its budget, framing the judiciary as the weakest branch and tying judicial independence to congressional spending power. The remarks followed the November 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats secured majorities in both chambers, a shift that could reshape the policy landscape. The comments highlight the tension between the court’s independence and Congress’s power of the purse. What to watch next is whether the new Congress uses budget authority to pressure the court.