Alito: Congress Could Cripple Supreme Court by Cutting Funds
WHO:
CNN - Federalist Society Board Co-chairman Leonard Leo said the organization would continue building its infrastructure and talent pipeline.
CNN - Former White House counsel Donald McGahn said he had attended the Federalist Society’s annual conference since 1995.
CNN - Federalist Society president Karin Lips said the organization was investing in young people for the future.
NBC News - Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke with conservative author Mollie Hemingway at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention dinner.
NBC News - The audience included more than 2,500 conservative elected officials, lawyers, judges, and advocates.
NBC News - Alito was nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.
Fox News - Alito warned that Congress can defund the Supreme Court and halt its operations.
NY Post - Alito argued that the judiciary is the weakest of the three branches of government.
WHAT:
CNN - At the convention, attendees celebrated Supreme Court decisions including Trump v. Slaughter, which reversed a 1935 decision and expanded presidential authority to fire heads of independent agencies; West Virginia v. BPJ, which allowed states to bar transgender girls and women from female sports; and Louisiana v. Callais, which removed protections under the Voting Rights Act.
CNN - Alito praised the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, saying, “The decision showed a lot of courage.”
CNN - Attendees discussed possible Republican presidential contenders for 2028, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
CNN - Federalist Society members anticipated that the Democratic Senate majority would likely stall Trump’s judicial nominees during 2027 and 2028.
KOMO - Alito said that without an independent judiciary, “the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same.”
NBC News - Alito said that if judicial independence were eliminated, “the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same.”
Alternet - Alito said some lower-court judges had “gone far astray in abuse of their powers.”
NBC News - Alito said the Supreme Court “cannot be dangerous when it goes to strike,” describing its potential impact while stressing that it is the least dangerous branch.
NBC News - Alito said the rise of the emergency docket over the past 10 or 15 years was partly driven by what he viewed as recent unjustified orders by federal judges.
Alternet - Lower courts have blocked Trump’s attempts to limit mail-in voting and end birthright citizenship, in addition to halting construction of the White House ballroom.
Alternet - The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s birthright-citizenship order 6-3 in June; Alito dissented, calling the decision “a serious mistake.”
Alternet - In September, the Supreme Court declined to allow Trump’s mail-ballot restrictions to take effect while voting was underway. The majority said the administration was unlikely to succeed; Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas publicly dissented.
Alternet - Chief Justice John Roberts said in a public statement that impeachment “is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”
NBC News - Alito called the judiciary the “least dangerous” branch and said it is “vulnerable to the executive and to Congress because they are more powerful.”
NBC News - Alito said, “Congress can turn off the lights of the Supreme Court and stop everything from happening if they will not fund their activities.”
NBC News - Alito compared the judiciary to a “hand grenade,” rather than a “nuclear weapon” or a “500-pound bomb,” adding: “The hand grenade is the least dangerous, but that is not to say that is not dangerous.”
NBC News - Alito said some federal judges had gone “far astray” and issued what he called “unjustified orders.”
NBC News - He said lower-court judges are “dedicated and they are skillful,” but “they’re not perfect, and they make mistakes.”
NBC News - Alito said the Trump administration had a very high success rate with the Supreme Court’s conservative majority on the emergency, or “shadow,” docket. Interim rulings allowed the administration to proceed with immigration enforcement, federal-government restructuring, and construction of a White House ballroom while litigation continued.
WHERE:
CNN - The Federalist Society convention took place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
NBC News - Alito made his remarks at a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C., for the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention.
WHEN:
CNN - The Federalist Society was founded in 1982.
NBC News - Alito’s remarks came after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in larger-than-expected numbers.
Alternet - Chief Justice Roberts issued his statement in March 2025 after Trump called for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.
WHY:
NBC News - Alito said preserving judicial independence was important because Congress and the executive branch have more power than the judiciary.
NBC News - Alito said presidents frustrated by difficulty getting Congress to enact their legislative agendas have sought to act unilaterally, prompting opponents to seek court orders blocking those actions.
NBC News - He said some district judges’ sweeping orders can prevent a president from implementing an initiative for most of a four-year term, even if the judge’s decision is later found to be wrong.
HOW:
NBC News - Alito said Congress could use its power of the purse to stop Supreme Court operations by withholding funding.
NBC News - Alito said litigators choose districts where they believe they are most likely to win; he said their expectations are “very often met.”
(UPDATED November 14, 2026 11:57 UTC)
Justice Samuel Alito warned Congress could defund the Supreme Court, halting its operations. He defended judicial independence and criticized some lower-court judges. Federalist Society attendees celebrated conservative court rulings and discussed possible Republican contenders.
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(UPDATED November 14, 2026 02:06 UTC)
Justice Samuel Alito warned that Congress could defund the Supreme Court and halt its operations. Speaking at a Federalist Society dinner, he called judicial independence essential to constitutional government. Alito criticized some lower-court rulings, while defending the judiciary as the least powerful branch.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 19:58 UTC)
Justice Samuel Alito warned that Congress could defund the Supreme Court and halt its operations. Speaking at a conservative lawyers’ gathering, he called the judiciary the weakest branch. Alito criticized lower-court orders, while defending judicial independence against pressure from Congress and presidents.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 19:03 UTC)
Justice Samuel Alito warned Congress could cripple the Supreme Court by withholding its funding. He called the judiciary the weakest branch, vulnerable to Congress and the executive. Alito also criticized sweeping lower-court orders, saying judges sometimes make mistakes.