New Michigan congressman snags his great-grandfather's office in Washington

Michigan Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Tom Barrett snagged the office on Capitol Hill that he'd been pulling for ― a space in the Longworth building once occupied by his great-grandfather, the late Louis Charles Rabaut.

"His legacy is something my whole family is proud of," Barrett wrote in his pitch to new congressional colleagues last week. "In fact, my youngest son, Louis, is named after my great-grandfather."

Rabaut was elected to Congress 90 years ago, though Barrett never met him or got to ask about his time in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rabaut had a heart attack during an event and died in the arms of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Dingell in 1961, Barrett has said.

The Democrat had represented the Grosse Pointes and part of Detroit in Congress between 1935 and 1961. He is best known for his measure adding "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance ― a resolution adopted in 1954 while he occupied 1232 Longworth House Office Building, according to Barrett.

That office was Barrett's top choice on Thursday when the incoming freshman class of House lawmakers participated in the traditional lottery for open office space on the House side of Capitol Hill. Currently the office is occupied by Iowa GOP U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who plans to move out after Barrett approached him and explained his family connection to the space.

The office lottery, held every two years, lets incoming members pick a number that determines in what order they choose from the available offices.

Barrett wrote a letter to his 56 fellow freshman colleagues that he distributed last week, explaining the sentimental meaning that 1232 Longworth holds for him and asking them to avoid choosing it so that he could pick it.

"I understand and respect the office lottery process and ultimately the decision will be yours to select your office when your turn becomes available," Barrett wrote. "Perhaps 90 years from now, one of your descendants will be asking their colleagues to hold your office available for them to occupy."

It worked. Barrett scored No. 14 in the lottery and locked in 1232 Longworth for his own Thursday. Afterward, he thanked his colleagues, Republican and Democrat, for their kindness in respecting his request. He also phoned his mom and dad back in Michigan to convey the good news ("They were thrilled!").

"It's something I’m very appreciative of and very proud to be able to do. It also gives me a lot of reflection on the gravity of the ability to go to Congress and fight for what you believe in, represent your district, represent your constituents and have a legacy that endures decades after," Barrett told The Detroit News.

"It’s both looking backward at the legacy of my great-grandfather who worked in that office but also remembering that there's going to be generations following after me and what are they going to be saying about this time in our nation's history and the people who served?"

Barrett was relieved it all worked out, admitting afterward that he hadn't explored any other offices so if it turned out that the space wasn't available, he would have been "scrambling."

After the lottery pick was official, Barrett went to visit his new office and Nunn, who gave Barrett a challenge coin to go with the new space.

Barrett isn't allowed to move in until the morning of his swearing-in on Jan. 3, but he said he already has some plans for how to decorate, including a portrait of his great-grandfather, a description of him and framed copy of the Pledge of Allegiance that Rabaut signed in 1954 with the words "under God" italicized.

During the Cold War, Rabaut had wanted to distinguish the United States from the atheist Soviet Union, saying in a speech on the House floor that the "unbridgeable gap" between the two nations is "a belief in Almighty God."

"If you take that away, you really do 'open the floodgates to tyranny and oppression,'" Barrett said, quoting the speech. "I thought that was an important distinction, of course."

Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. of East Lansing in the Nov. 5 election to represent mid-Michigan's 7th Congressional District, which encompasses Clinton, Ingham, Livingston and Shiawassee counties and parts of Eaton and Oakland counties.