21-02-2025
Protesters picket Congressman Tom Barrett's Lansing office over Trump policies
LANSING — More than 100 people protested outside of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett's Lansing office on Friday, asking the Charlotte Republican to "do his job" by bringing more oversight to the wide-ranging government changes initiated by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Barrett is newly elected to Congress, having won a close election in November against East Lansing Democrat Curtis Hertel. Protesters said Barrett's office has not responded to several attempts to set up a meeting with Indivisible Michigan 7, a local branch of the national Indivisible movement.
Barrett's office did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking for comment from the State Journal.
Organizers David Hopkinson and Shelley Cichy, of Lansing, said they realize some of their favorite issues like support for diversity may not appeal to Barrett, but they believe other concerns like veteran employment and benefits are important to the former State senator, who is a veteran and former Army helicopter pilot.
"We know there are issues that reach him, like veteran organizations that provide services to people. Those are being unfunded and people are going to die as a result," Hopkinson said. "There are unhoused veterans and unhealthy veterans and if they don't get the support they need, they will die."
Cichy said clinical trials are being halted, potentially dooming patients who had seen hope.
Like many in the crowd outside the office on West Ottawa Street near the state Capitol, she said Musk is not being held accountable by Congress and elected members of Congress like Barrett should oversee spending and other major changes, rather than Musk.
Joan Thomas, another organizer, slid a letter of Indivisible Michigan 7's requests into the door of Barrett's office. No one answered the door when protesters knocked.
The organization's requests included lifting the pause on USAID funding, protecting Michigan State University's funding and students as well as its local business support, justice for the LGBTQIA community and immigrant populations and preserving Medicaid and Medicare.
Thomas said tens of thousands of children and thousands of seniors in the district get Medicaid coverage. Republicans have proposed billions of dollars of cuts to the program.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@ or 517-267-0415.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Protesters picket Congressman Tom Barrett's office over Trump policies
