Overview:
-Environmental and community advocates gathered at U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett's office in Lansing to protest what they call an illegal power grab by billionaire Elon Musk and the Trump administration.
- They criticized the move to dismantle federal agencies and withhold critical funding, and called on Barrett to stand up for the Constitution.
- The protests follow recent actions by the Trump administration that many experts say are unconstitutional, including freezing federal grants and loans and moving to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Environmental and community advocates poured into U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett’s (R-Charlotte) Lansing office Monday to protest what they call an illegal power grab that threatens public education, health care and environmental protections.
Their protest, part of a coordinated effort across Michigan, condemned billionaire Elon Musk’s access to sensitive government IT systems and the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle federal agencies and withhold critical funding.
Education rights organization 482Forward, gun control group End Gun Violence Michigan and others coordinated the protests.
“We can’t protect the environment and we can’t address the climate crisis if we don’t have a functioning democracy,” Sean McBrearty, Michigan state director for the nonprofit Clean Water Action, told Planet Detroit.
McBrearty referred to Musk’s and Trump’s actions as “an ongoing coup attempt, ” voicing concern that Musk’s attempt to take over federal infrastructure could undermine environmental programs and criticizing the billionaires’ involvement in efforts to encourage federal employees to resign.
“With the way they’re trying to chase federal employees away, how’s the EPA going to have any teeth going forward? How are we going to protect people’s health and well-being?” he asked.
The 15 or so people who flooded Barrett’s tiny basement office in a building near the Michigan Capitol called on the member of Congress to use his power to stand up for the U.S. Constitution. Although Barrett was not in his office at the time, staff members said they would relay protestors’ concerns to the lawmaker.
The protests follow a dizzying few weeks during which the Trump administration took actions that many experts say are unconstitutional, including freezing federal grants and loans and moving to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump also wants to shut down the Education Department and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
Legal experts have said shutting down agencies created by Congress or pausing legally obligated funds requires congressional approval. Judges have issued rulings to block elements of Trump’s plan to shut down USAID and unfreeze funding. However, on Monday, a federal judge said Trump has continued withholding grant and loan funding.
Is Trump administration’s power grab legal?
Vice President JD Vance also took to X over the weekend, where he wrote that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Some law professors have said the administration’s actions represent a “’constitutional crisis,” which can describe a situation where a president defies laws and judicial rulings.
In Michigan, the freeze on federal grants has delayed $81.7 million in environmental justice funding, with $46.2 million set to go to Detroit. The money includes funds for resilience hubs, clean ports and pollution monitoring.
“President Trump was elected, and he has the right to enact his agenda, but he has to do so legally,” McBrearty said to staff members at Barrett’s office. “And letting Elon Musk take over the full federal infrastructure the way he’s doing as a private citizen…nobody voted to see that.”
Although Vance didn’t address DOGE directly in his comments suggesting the Executive Branch could ignore court orders, his comments came less than 24 hours after a judge blocked DOGE workers from accessing sensitive US Treasury Department systems.
Protester William Lawrence asked Ron Kendall, district director for Barrett’s office, if the Congressman agreed with the perspective that “the executive branch can ignore a court order enjoining against the DOGE takeover of federal agencies.”
Kendall said he had not spoken to Congressman Barrett about the issue.
Protesters urge support for Constitution, rule of law
Protesters said they wanted Barrett to clarify his stance on freezing federal grant funding and the Department of Governmental Operations and Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to personal data, including Social Security and veterans’ benefits records.
“We want a leader we can trust—someone who will stand up for our rights and ensure our government isn’t taken over by a billionaire,” protester Betsy Fear told Barrett’s staff.
Fear added she would support lawmakers who stand against Trump and Musk. Another protester noted that Barrett won his recent election with just 50.3% of the vote, emphasizing his duty to represent all constituents.
Kendall acknowledged that it was a “very purple district” and “kind of a microcosm of the state of Michigan.”
Nichole Keway Biber, mid-Michigan campaign organizer for Clean Water Action, told Planet Detroit she wanted to hear Congressman Barrett give a floor speech on Trump and Musk’s actions or at least reply to residents’ concerns about what she said was the administration’s disregard of congressional oversight.
“We need to hear…that he is going to stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law,” she said.
Biber added that she was encouraging those she worked with to continue calling their Senators and U.S. Representatives to encourage them to support environmental funding and protections previously passed by Congress. She urged people to reach out to those who may be less politically engaged.
“Talk to people who think that politics don’t matter and say these things matter to our experiences every single day,” she said.