a letter to barrett about doge

posted on Feb 22, 2025

danny caballero

People getting angry, y’all.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) represents a part of the Atlanta suburbs and ex-urban areas that is deeply Republican. Here’s a video of his recent townhall meeting where his constituents are angry about the president’s cutting of the federal workforce seemingly indiscriminately.

Holy crap. At his town hall last night, Rep. Rich McCormick compared *his own constituents* who asked him tough and fair questions to January 6 insurrectionists

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-02-21T15:57:05.311Z

There are several other clips where McCormick’s constituents express their frustration with a number of things including the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the billionaire in charge of it, Elon Musk.

Watching these clips I had a lot of feelings.

This is what y’all voted for. This is what we were told they would do. How did you not believe them when they said they would do it?

Are you upset now because it’s happening to you? These attacks on some of us were what Trump ran on. This is what he promised to do. This is what you wanted.

That representative has no thoughts of his own. What a clown. I feel bad that these folks are represented by a cowardly and craven person.

Christ, am I glad I don’t live in Georgia anymore.

But the principal thought was: It is starting to break through.

People are starting to see what happens when your government is run by a “megalomaniac” (as one of the constituents put it). People are starting to see the effects of having a shadow president in the form of a billionaire who is not accountable to anyone - a man who shares the president’s views because he is willing to do anything to get what he wants.

a town hall for tom?

I’ve been hoping for my representative, Tom Barrett, to hold a town hall meeting because I have several questions for him.

1. The president’s executive actions that remove DEI programs from the federal government and that coerce the states and private entities to do the same by withholding federal funds are a direct attack on many people across our district including my family. Have you spoken with any people of color, any LGBTQ+ folks, any Muslim folks, anyone who is not white and Christian about these issues? Do you care about those people, the people not like you? Do you think they are less than you? Do you think they are less than the people who voted for you? Because your silence speaks volumes to us. Why have you been silent on this outrageous attack on Americans who are different from you?
2. The president’s executive actions that are empowering DOGE to cut jobs and programs are hallowing out our ability to respond to health crises including future pandemics. They hamper our ability to manage environmental disasters like wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and tornados. They stifle the research that occurs directly in your district. Do you care about the people in your district? Do you care about their health? Their well-being? Their livelihoods? How can you resolve these executive actions and job cuts with your campaign promises to us to improve our lives?
3. The president and his administration are attacking the very fabric of the American experiment. They are attacking the very idea of democracy. Do you care about having a democracy? How can you support a president who acts like a king? We fought that war and England lost. Please explain to us how you can support a president who is calls the duly elected president of Ukraine a dictator while he cuts a deal with a murderous thug that rigs elections like Vladimir Putin.
4. Can you explain to us how you can support a party that has allowed the president to act well outside his powers? Why have you and your party given up your power to the president? Why does an unelected billionaire have more power than my elected representative? Why should we trust you to represent us when you have given up your power to do so?
5. The president continues to attack the concept of public education. The vast majority of your constituents’ children attend Michigan public schools including my own. Your district is home to Michigan State University - the largest public university in our state, and my place of work. We educate more Michiganders than any school; we graduate the most STEM students in our state. Do you think about us when your party is attempting to coerce us into adopting un-American values and giving up our freedoms, creating bills that cut funding to our schools, and working diligently to put those dollars into the pockets of billionaires and corporations? Will you be complicit in the theft of public funds from our schools? What should I tell my kids and my students when they ask me why you are doing this?

But I haven’t seen any town halls advertised.

My sense is that most of the Republican members of Congress are afraid of their constituents. They don’t like what they see Trump, Musk, and their band of merry (mostly) men doing. But they remain cowards who won’t stand up for America, for democracy, and for the people they represent.

And they certainly don’t want to be like Rich McCormick.

The problem is that they are all Rich McCormick.

mmmmm...tasty

So instead, I will take my own advice and write a letter to Tom Barrett.

a letter to tom

It’s less than 2000 characters, so I can send it via the House of Representatives website. I plan to call his office and ask for a response.

Dear Rep. Barrett,

I’m Danny Caballero, a professor of physics and computational science at Michigan State University. I have received numerous teaching awards at MSU and am also an American Physical Society Fellow, a distinction awarded to only 2% of physicists worldwide. This letter represents my personal views, not those of my employer.

The support I have received from the federal government has been critical to my success. As a first-generation college student, I attended college through subsidized federal student loans. The National Science Foundation (NSF) helped fund my dissertation, and since joining MSU, I’ve mentored 15 postdoctoral research associates, 10 graduate students, and 47 undergraduates, thanks to federal competitive grants.

I am deeply concerned about the actions of the president and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Specifically, MSU has run a program inviting American students from across the country to do summer research at MSU, supported by the NSF for over 20 years. MSU’s world-class research labs, including the premier nuclear science facility, have attracted top students, many of whom later joined MSU for graduate studies.

However, we’ve been informed that this program’s renewal is unlikely to be funded, meaning MSU will not host summer research students for the first time in my career.

I would like you to explain how the cutting of these kinds of programs by an unelected official of the federal government aligns with your constitutional duty to direct how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Moreover, I would like to know what you are planning to do to protect public education in our district from the seemingly unconstitutional cuts that are being made by DOGE. I expect my representative to conduct themselves according to their constitutional duty and the actions of the president and DOGE appear to be undermining that duty.

I look forward to your response. Thank you for your service to our district and our country.

Danny Caballero, PhD