Pelosi: House to vote next week protecting Supreme Court justices and their families after man arrested near Kavanaugh’s home
By Devan Cole, CNN
The House will consider a Senate-passed bill to enhance security for Supreme Court justices and their families next week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, after a man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home.
“We had hoped that we could do it today but we certainly will do it at the beginning of next week,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters.
Though the legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent in May, it has stalled in the House, angering some lawmakers who have stressed the urgent need for it. It’s still unclear if the House will want to amend the bill to include protection for clerks and other staff, as some lawmakers previously indicated.
The bill’s purpose was brought into sharp focus early Wednesday when an armed man was arrested near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home after making threats against the justice, according to a court spokesperson. The man told law enforcement he had traveled from California to kill “a specific United States Supreme Court Justice,” according to an FBI affidavit filed Wednesday.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Duck Durbin said earlier Thursday that the House is “ready to move” on the bill, telling reporters that “we’re ready to meet with them and resolve our differences” on the legislation.
“What happened this week with Justice Kavanaugh is a reminder that we live in a dangerous place, and these people are vulnerable and we should protect them,” Durbin said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been critical of the House for its inaction on the legislation, and on Thursday he slammed Pelosi for what he called a “dangerous dereliction of duty” for slow-walking its passage.
“Inexplicably, this urgent and uncontroversial bill has been sitting on Speaker Pelosi’s desk ever since,” he said. “The same House Democrats whose irresponsible rhetoric has contributed to this dangerous climate are themselves blocking added security for the judges and their spouses and their children.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware told CNN on Wednesday he is still working with the House on a compromise to enhance security, which could include extending protection to clerks and other staff.
“I’ve actually been engaging with several House members about how we come to a negotiated compromise on that bill and move it forward promptly,” said Coons, noting that the main sticking point is “a relatively simple issue of whether or not the scope of it also includes clerks and other staff.”
There has been a rise in threats against the court amid the national abortion rights debate and protests that have taken place across the US. The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo last month warning law enforcement that there are potential threats to members of the Supreme Court after a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked.
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CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
