Congress Could Defund the Supreme Court, Justice Alito Warns

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. has warned that Congress could defund the Supreme Court and bring its operations to a halt. He made the remarks on Thursday at the Federalist Society's Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, according to a report by The Hill.

"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.

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

While Congress could target the court's funding, the U.S. Constitution explicitly protects the pay of Supreme Court justices. Article III, Section 1 says judges shall receive compensation at stated times, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Alito indicated that lower-level judges have at times handed down "unjustified" orders obstructing the policies of presidents in recent years. "They are dedicated, and they are skillful, but they're not perfect, and they make mistakes," he said, according to The Hill.

"And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers," he added.

Alito has served on the Supreme Court since early 2006. He was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush.