Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) questioned Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan about whether the court should adopt stricter rules on gifts.
The testimony highlights a growing push from lawmakers to establish a binding ethics code for the nation's highest court to prevent conflicts of interest. This pressure follows criticism that the current lack of formal restrictions leaves the judiciary open to perceptions of impropriety.
The justices appeared before a congressional committee during a budget-request hearing. This appearance marked the first time since 2019 [1] that the Supreme Court sent a delegation to testify before Congress. The timing coincided with the court requesting tens of millions of dollars [2] in additional funding.
During the hearing, Rep. DeLauro pressed the justices on the necessity of transparency. "Do you think it’s time for the Supreme Court to adopt clear rules on gifts?" DeLauro said [3].
The inquiry comes amid ongoing debate regarding the court's internal governance. While the justices were questioned on ethics, the primary purpose of the hearing was to discuss the court's financial needs. However, the lack of a binding code remains a central point of contention for congressional critics.
Legal analysts have noted that the current system is insufficient. One analyst said the Court has no binding ethics code, which leaves it vulnerable to perceptions of impropriety [4]. This vulnerability has led to repeated calls for legislative or internal reform to ensure that justices are held to the same standards as other federal judges.
“"Do you think it’s time for the Supreme Court to adopt clear rules on gifts?"”
The intersection of a budget hearing and ethics questioning suggests that lawmakers may use the court's funding requests as leverage to secure ethics reforms. By questioning justices on the public record, Congress is signaling that financial support for the judiciary may be linked to the court's willingness to adopt a transparent, binding code of conduct.
