Barrett took big money from donors who profited from GOP tax law

As Congress debated the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett took in thousands of dollars in donations from billionaires and corporations that have since benefited from its passage.

Barrett represents Michigan’s 7th District, which includes all of Lansing. He is widely regarded as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans up for reelection this year.

Between March and June 2025, Barrett received nearly $50,000 from eight different billionaires, including $7,000 each from MAGA megadonors Richard Uhelin and Jeffrey Yass. He received another $7,000 from real estate heir Ross Perot Jr.

During this same period, Barrett received $17,500 from oil and gas executives representing Chief Oil and Gas, Sable Periman, and Arrington Oil and Gas. He took in another $2,000 from the PAC representing Koch, Inc., an energy manufacturer.

All of these individuals and entities benefited from OBBB’s tax cuts for big corporations and the ultrawealthy. Those tax breaks are funded by cuts to Medicaid and other government services. More than 13,000 of Barrett’s own constituents are expected to lose their health insurance as a result.

Despite this, Barrett has referred to the law as a “significant win” and told WILX News last August that he was proudly “championing all of the great things out of the big, beautiful bill.”

The law also made significant cuts to clean energy initiatives, many of which were implemented during the Biden administration. It eliminated tax credits that incentivized the spread of solar and wind power and cleared the way for more oil and gas drilling in the United States.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s main lobbying arm, told CNBC before the law was passed that it would be a dream come true.

“This bill will be the most transformational legislation that we’ve seen in decades in terms of access to both federal lands and federal waters,” Sommers said. “It includes almost all of our priorities.”

These handouts to the oil industry are likely to raise utility rates for American households. OBBB also paved the way for the construction of new AI data centers that will put an increased strain on local electrical grids and could drive up energy costs even further.

An analysis from Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan energy policy think tank, said that annual utility costs for Michigan households could spike by $473 by 2035 because of OBBB.

Barrett has been criticized in the past for catering to special interests. He served in the Michigan Senate from 2019 to 2023. He voted twice in 2016 to protect tax credits for car insurers and then received $5,000 from the car insurance industry immediately afterward.

In 2018, Barrett backed a bill that would have curtailed the state’s paid leave policy and delayed a minimum wage increase for workers. Barrett received nearly $197,000 from PACs that opposed these policies.

Barrett’s Democratic challenger will be chosen in an Aug. 4 primary.