A large crowd gathered in the snow outside Traverse City’s Governmental Center on Monday to protest actions of the federal government.
Slogans on signs singled out President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, plus jobs and funding cuts made at the federal level.
Callie Barr, who lost to U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) in a bid for northern Michigan's congressional seat, spoke to the crowd.
"In the past month, we've been witness to unconstitutional power grabs which have the effect of concentrating power in the executive branch, undermining the constitutionally dictated separation of power that has allowed this country to remain a democracy for 245 years," Barr said.
Elected officials like Traverse City Mayor Amy Shamroe and state Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) also spoke to the crowd.
"What Elon Musk is doing, and Donald Trump is allowing him to do, is blatantly illegal," Coffia said. "What he is doing is having very real consequences to our neighbors, to Americans all over this country."
Coffia went on to talk about the dismissal of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.
Katie Kniss, chair of the Grand Traverse County Republican Party, told IPR that most Republicans she speaks to are happy about the administration's actions so far.
"(Trump) was elected with a mandate to make change to government, to get rid of the corruption, to hunt it out," she said in a phone interview. "It’s very clear to all of us that he’s been working on this for the last four years. He came into office knowing what leaves to turn, what doors to look behind. He had been preparing for this for a while."
She said getting rid of what the administration deems to be wasteful spending could put money back in people's pockets, even if that change is slow to arrive.
"It's no secret that Traverse City is a very expensive place to live," Kniss said. "If the average taxpayer is making higher income, that will affect their daily living in Grand Traverse County."
Back at the protest, Sven Anderson, who had driven from Lake Ann to attend, said he was dismayed by the rapid cuts made to the federal government by DOGE, the organization led by Musk and tapped by Trump to reshape federal agencies.
"My wife and I have been watching the news and looking at the atrocities that are occurring, and we feel absolutely powerless," Anderson said. "It's like our government is no longer in control. It's like Congress has given up and thrown in their hats, and left it all to Trump and his little watch dog, Elon Musk. And it's terrible, absolutely terrible."
Maggie Mieske, a substitute teacher from Buckley, was also there.
"I'm on disability and Medicare," she said, "and I'm a little bit worried about what's going to happen to me if I lose that."
The event was organized by the Grand Traverse County Democrats and Traverse Indivisible, which said people came from as far away as Harbor Springs, Antrim County and Wexford County to join.
The demonstrations in Traverse City were part of similar events set to happen around the country today, timed with Presidents' Day.
IPR's Ed Ronco contributed to this report.
