Nearly 250 constituents from throughout Michigan’s 7th Congressional District demonstrated outside Rep. Tom Barrett’s Lansing office Monday while a small group met inside with his staff to detail the harm they say is being done by the Trump administration and Elon Musk.
According to a release from the Livingston County Democratic Party, constituents chanting “Town Hall Now,” “Save Our Democracy,” and “Fire Musk,” held signs outside Barrett’s office protesting cuts to Medicaid, education, and more that would pay for tax cuts for the rich. Five constituents meeting inside with Barrett’s staff said they could hear the chants of the crowd.
“I spoke with Rep. Barrett’s staff about how tariffs are going to kill small business and the automotive business in Michigan,” said Janice Foster, a small business owner from Green Oak Township. “We need the legislative branch to stand up against Trump and reclaim their power,”
Cherie Mollison of Iosco Township spoke to the staff about the haphazard way cuts are being done and the crippling effect it will have on the work the federal government does to keep Americans safe.
Other Livingston County residents addressed how they thought children would be hurt by the potential elimination of the Department of Education and the impact of cuts in research funding on vital health research. They also each left behind written summaries of the harmful effects they are seeing.
Afterward, Mollison said in the release that the discussion was civil and appeared to open the door to more discussions in the future. She said there appeared to be a guarantee that special education funding would be protected, but beyond that she said the staff mainly repeated Republican talking points.
While the crowd outside was demanding a town hall, Mollison said the staff position was that a town hall where Barrett was being shouted at “would not be productive.”
Constituents at the protest came from throughout Livingston, Ingham, Shiawassee, Clinton, and Eaton counties. At its peak, the crowd lined the sidewalk along both sides of the street in front of Barrett’s office near the Capitol.
