Courtney Invites Vernon Veteran, Former Fed Employee to Washington

VERNON, CT — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) Monday announced that Gabriel D'Alatri will be his special guest for President Trump's Joint Address to Congress Tuesday night.

D'Alatri, a Marine veteran and new dad from Vernon, was a "high-performing" project manager at the Internal Revenue Service until his layoff on Feb. as part of President Donald Trump's federal workforce purge, Courtney said.

It happened just five days from D'Alatri securing permanent employment status and his job loss forced his wife to end maternity leave early and return to full-time work, Courtney said.

"It separated her from their newborn," Courtney said. "Gabriel is one of nearly 6,000 veterans who has been fired from their federal job."

He continued, "Over the last month, my office has received thousands of messages from constituents grappling with the consequences of the Trump Administration's actions. Gabriel was one of those callers. His experience as a veteran, a new father, and a top-performing federal worker at the IRS who was unjustly fired screamed out for action. His presence here in Washington is living proof of the feckless, indiscriminate harm that President Trump and Elon Musk’s mismanaged ‘DOGE’ has inflicted on high performing, patriotic public servants like Gabriel."

D'Alatri said he took the move hard.

"I'm a proud Marine veteran, father, husband, and former IRS federal worker. My job helped everyday Americans access essential services and allowed me to support my wife and six-month-old daughter," he said. "I never imagined veterans would be targeted. I want to believe all presidents care about us, but instead, veterans and working-class people like me have been unjustly fired. My wife and I had plans to buy a new house. We just had a new baby. To be fired puts extreme pressure on our family. All I want is to return to work and do my job."

Courtney said he "has been fighting back to protect workers like Gabriel and help them return to work."

Courtney is a co-sponsor of the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, which would require any veteran who was removed or otherwise dismissed from civil service after Jan. 20, 2025 to be eligible to get a job back.

Courtney also sent a letter with hundreds of his colleagues "rebuking" Elon Musk’s "Five Things" email.

Shortly after the administration sent its buyout offer, Courtney sent a letter to federal workers in eastern Connecticut reiterating his support for their work and urging them to scrutinize the offer.

Courtney is also a long-time co-sponsor of the Saving the Civil Service Act to protect federal employees from political attacks.

D'Alatri is a first generation Italian-American. He said he was "driven" by a duty to serve the country that afforded him and his family "new opportunities," so he and his brother, Giulio D’Alatri, joined the Marine Corps in 2016 shortly after graduating high school.

During his service, he was meritoriously promoted to Lance Corporal after receiving top marks at the Marine Corps Motor Transportation School at Fort Leonard Wood. The brothers were later medically discharged following injuries during their tours of duty.

D'Alatri used his GI bill to further his education at the University of Connecticut. He then began working at the IRS in February 2024 as a project manager providing support to IRS facilities across New England. He was slated to be promoted from a probationary employee to a permanent employee on Feb. 25.

D'Alatri was laid off five days earlier. He first reached out to Vernon neighbor and state representative Kevin Brown, who then connected him with Courtney.

In a news conference Tuesday morning, Courtney said by inviting D'Alatri to Tuesday's address, he will "add a face" to what has been transpiring in Washington.

"My office has been inundated with calls, but out of all the calls I received, Gabriel's story jumped off the page," Courtney said.

D'Alatri said he voted for Trump with an understanding that the "administration would speak up for veterans."

He added, " I was completely shocked to have the run pulled out from under me."

Added Courtney, "By inviting veterans like Gabriel (to the address), we hope to add a human impact to what has been happening."