The House has passed a bill designed to increase protection for the families of Supreme Court justices.
On Tuesday, the chamber voted 396-27 in favor of the bill, which would provide 24-hour protection to the immediate families of the justices.
PunchBowl News’ Jake Sherman shared a list of the Democrats who voted against the bill, which included: Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), and Maxine Waters (Calif.)
The SCOTUS security bill has passed the House 396-27.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 14, 2022
All nos were Democrats. Here is the list.
The bill will now go to President @JoeBiden for his signature. pic.twitter.com/9wUcjphmas
Last month, Politico reported, based on a leaked draft opinion, that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
After the draft leaked, a group called “Ruth Sent Us” — which is named after the late-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — published the addresses of the six conservative justices on the court.
It called for people to protest the draft opinion outside of the justices’ homes.
Protesters did show up outside the homes of several justices, which prompted then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki to tweet, “[President Joe Biden] strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest.”
“But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety,” she added.
A week after the Politico report, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill that allows the Supreme Court’s law enforcement officials to provide 24/7 protection. However, it did not provide additional funding for the increased security.
Last week, a man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s House with the alleged intent of murdering him.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the suspect was carrying a knife, a pistol, ammunition, two magazines, pepper spray, and zip ties.
He was reportedly spotted by federal agents wearing all black, carrying a backpack and a suitcase, and got out of a taxi outside Kavanaugh’s home. The suspect was charged with attempted murder.
After the arrest, Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters that in May, he “accelerated the protection of all the justices’ residences 24/7.”
Garland also said he met with several law enforcement agencies to “ensure every degree of protection available is possible.”
“Threats of violence, and actual violence, against the justices, of course, strike at the heart of our democracy,” the attorney general said, adding, “We will do everything we can to prevent them, and to hold people who do them accountable.”
House Democrats previously wanted to make a change to the bill that would extend security to Supreme Court clerks and other staff.
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued, “The security issue is related to the Supreme Court justices, not to nameless staff that no one knows.”
