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Alito Warns Congress Can ‘Turn Off the Lights’ at Supreme Court

Alito said the court is vulnerable to Congress and urged preserving judicial independence as he criticized lower judges for blocking presidential policies.

  • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito warned on Thursday that Congress could "turn off the lights" at the high court by defunding its activities, defending the importance of an independent judiciary.
  • The remarks occurred at the annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, held one week after Democrats swept control of both houses of Congress as a tentpole for the conservative legal movement.
  • Alito told a crowd of more than 1,000 conservative lawyers that the judiciary remains "vulnerable" to Congress, while Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Amy Coney Barrett visited Capitol Hill over the summer to advocate for increased security funding.
  • In the same speech, Alito criticized lower-court judges for issuing "unjustified" orders blocking presidential policies in recent years, arguing some have gone "far astray" in abusing their powers.
  • Following appearances by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett last year, Alito remains the latest conservative justice to headline the dinner, having previously described pandemic restrictions as "previously unimaginable.
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The Hill broke the news in Washington, United States on Friday, November 13, 2026.
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