Barrett’s War Powers Pretense

Tom Barrett is feeling the heat as his re-election prospects weaken. After being nearly invisible for his first year in office, he’s been more active in 2026 through community appearances and introducing legislation…(though I still don’t think we’ll ever see him face the voters at a public and unscripted town hall!).

Most recently, he released a package of bills to rein in presidential war powers. This is a classic example of “doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.”

The bills themselves are good: They would apply a five-year limit on Congressional authorizations for use of force, and empower the House to fast-track votes to end military force.

Does this mean that Barrett has become an anti-war champion? Far from it. The week before introducing these bills, he cast the decisive vote against a War Powers Resolution to restrain the President from further aggression in Iran. The vote failed 215-214.

Let’s make this clear: Barrett passed up an opportunity to end an actual war in Iran. Then he made a big show of being opposed to other, hypothetical wars.

The situation reminds me of that Bush-era bumper sticker favored by liberals: “I’m already against the next war.” Barrett is against the next war, but for the current one!

Useless. If you want a representative who introduces legislation for the sake of a press release, stick with Barrett. If you want someone who will do the right thing when he sits down to vote in the House chambers, vote for me.

Votes of Note In DC

Farm bill falls short for family farmers. Tom Barrett voted to pass the long-overdue Farm Bill. I’m listening to family farmers who argue that the bill doesn’t do enough to rescue them from economic ruin. Bob Thompson from the Michigan Farmers Union told WCMU that it would have been preferable to hold out for a stronger bill that reduces input costs and expands access to domestic markets. The bill also locked in $187 billion in SNAP cuts from last summer’s Big Ugly Bill for the next five years. (Source: WCMU)

DHS shutdown ends with no new ICE funding. After 75 days, the longest agency shutdown in American history, Republicans quietly passed the Senate’s DHS funding bill with zero new dollars for ICE. Speaker Johnson, who called the same bill “a joke” weeks ago, passed it by voice vote so no one had to go on record. Republicans will now continue trying to fund ICE through the budget reconciliation process. (Source: Politico)

Hot rotisserie chicken for working families? Barrett says no. Under current SNAP rules, families can buy a chilled rotisserie chicken but not a hot one. Michigan’s Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet spent years fixing this, and this week it passed 384–35 as an amendment to the Farm Bill. Barrett voted against it because he wants working parents to have to work even harder. (Source: Detroit News)

District Notes

Eaton County secures $2.5M for drain project. Eaton County secured a $2.5 million state grant through EGLE this week to help defray costs from the Bank Intercounty Drain project — a $60 million overhaul affecting roughly 1,900 property owners in Delta Township. Individual assessments have run as high as $17,000 per household. The grant won’t erase those bills, but will provide some relief. (Source: WILX)

Michigan pushes dam safety reform after spring floods. The Michigan House took testimony this week on legislation requiring dam owners to register, develop safety plans, and face more frequent inspections. EGLE estimates $1 billion in upgrades are needed statewide; 160 dams were already rated poor or unsatisfactory before the April floods hit. There are hundreds of dams throughout 7th district, most of which are taken completely for granted and scarcely even noticed until there is a disaster. (Source: WILX)

10,000+ graduate from MSU. More than 10,000 Michigan State University students graduated this weekend. These graduates enter a job market disrupted by tariffs, war, and Artificial Intelligence, on a warming world amidst a deteriorating global order. Spartans: I will fight alongside you to build the lives you deserve.