Washington — Some Democrats are inviting fired federal workers to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday instead of boycotting the speech.
Back in their home districts, Republican lawmakers have faced backlash from constituents over sweeping cuts to the federal government, which have been overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency, an Elon Musk-led task force known as DOGE.
Democratic Rep. Eric Sorenson of Illinois invited James Diaz, a disabled veteran who was laid off in February as a fuel compliance officer at the IRS. Diaz supports many of Mr. Trump’s policies, according to Sorenson’s office, but has been disappointed in how federal workers, especially veterans, have been treated during the president’s overhaul of the government.
“I’ve given my life to this country, and to be laid off without warning or respect is disheartening,” Diaz said in a statement. “My notice of termination cited performance, and I know my performance was documented as excellent, yet we were treated like garbage. I understand the need to trim the fat, but you can’t treat people this way.”
Army veteran Adam Mulvey, who is attending the speech as a guest of Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, also criticized the manner in which he was fired as insulting. Mulvey, who was an emergency management specialist at a federal health care center that serves veterans and active-duty personnel in North Chicago, said he was told that his termination was due to performance.
“I, like the majority of the terminated civil servants, had received outstanding evaluations,” Mulvey said in a statement that also expressed his concern about what the firings mean for the quality of medical care at the facility.
Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut will be accompanied by Marine veteran Gabriel D’Alatri, who was a project manager at the IRS before he was laid off in February. D’Alatri was five days away from securing permanent employment status and his firing forced his wife to cut short her maternity leave and return to work.
A number of other Democrats are also bringing fired federal workers:
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York invited Alissa Ellman, a disabled Army veteran who was fired from her job at the Veterans Affairs Department in Buffalo.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will bring Doug Kowalewski as her guest. Kowalewski, a former National Science Foundation program director, was recently fired after 35 years at the agency.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is bringing ousted Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal.
- Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota invited Kate Severson, a former program manager at Voyageurs National Park, who was abruptly terminated last month.
- Rep. Grace Meng of New York will bring Army veteran Luke Graziani, who lost his job as a public affairs officer at a veterans hospital.
- Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York invited Nancy Bolan, who was fired from the United States Agency for International Development.
- Rep. Jimmy Panetta of California invited Ben Vizzachero, who worked on wildfire prevention in the National Forest Service before his job was cut.
- Rep. Gil Cisneros of California will be accompanied by Ollie Cantos, who was recently placed on leave from the Department of Education. He served as special assistant to the assistant secretary for civil rights.
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California is bringing an agricultural scientist who was recently fired. Lofgren said she is not releasing the name of the scientist, who is an Air Force veteran, “because of possible retaliatory actions against his family and/or community members.”
