After Contentious Rulings, 2 Supreme Court Justices to Appear Before Congressional Panel Next Week

After a highly eventful session of Supreme Court rulings, two justices will testify before Congress next week.

Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will testify before the House Appropriations Committee July 14 about the budget for the Supreme Court.

Barrett, nominated by President Donald Trump in 2020, is considered part of the conservative wing of the court. Kagan, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010, is considered part of the court’s liberal wing.

While the hearing concerns the court’s budget, House committee hearings have been known to go off topic. The high court heard and decided high-profile cases this session on immigration, presidential power, and the federal bureaucracy, so committee members might use some of their allotted time to ask about those rulings.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The ranking member is Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

While justices rarely appear before Congress today, the practice was somewhat common up to the mid-20th century, Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck wrote.

In 2019, Kagan and Justice Samuel Alito testified before the same House committee.

In 2011, Justices Anthony Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, and Stephen Breyer, a Bill Clinton appointee, testified before the House Appropriations Committee.