Members of grassroots organizations visit the office of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, in Lansing, Mich., on Feb. 10, 2025, to deliver letters and comments demanding that Congress do more to curb the power of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
Members of various local advocacy groups visited the Lansing office of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) on Monday to demand Congress do more to curb the power of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
About 20 representatives of groups including the Sierra Club, End Gun Violence Michigan – Action and 482Forward delivered letters and spoke to the office’s staff about their concerns.
Sean McBrearty, the Michigan state director for Clean Water Action, said that Barrett “has made the correct argument” that President Donald Trump has a mandate to enact his agenda after being elected in November.
“But he has to do so legally,” McBrearty said. “Letting Elon Musk take over federal infrastructure the way he’s doing – a private citizen who’s illegally doing that, nobody voted to see that.”
Ron Kendall, Barrett’s district director, said that Barrett’s office has “certainly” received lots of calls about Elon Musk and DOGE.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, and there’s no secret that this is uncharted waters,” Kendall told the group of activists Monday. “It’s very atypical, the process that’s happened. But, you know, we’re sifting through it as well, trying to figure out what’s allowed and what’s not.”
After speaking at Barrett’s office, Betsy Fear said that a smaller group was proceeding to the offices of U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) to express concerns about the Democratic senators voting to confirm several of Trump’s cabinet members.
She said they were taking the risk of there being consequences for protesting.
“If we’re willing to do that, our elected representatives should certainly be willing to do the same and to accept the consequences of it,” Fear said.
But Fear praised Slotkin for her floor speeches, prompting Kendall to say he would talk to Barrett’s office in Washington, D.C., about making a floor speech to clarify his stance on DOGE.
Fear said that the group who visited the office is “willing to stand behind whoever will lead us into doing the right thing for all of us.”
“I have worked around here for long enough to understand that this is a very purple district,” Kendall said. “This is a great kind of microcosm of the state of Michigan. We are not a monolith, either side, blue or red. We have to work together in a lot of circumstances, and we intend to do that. We are working through the process as much as you guys are.”