Rep. Courtney Invites Marine Veteran, Former Federal Employee to Washington for Joint Address
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced Gabriel D’Alatri as his special guest for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress. They will host a virtual media availability tomorrow, March 4, at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Register here.
Gabriel, a Marine veteran and new dad from Vernon, Connecticut, was a high-performing project manager at the IRS until his layoff on February 20, 2025, due to President Trump’s federal workforce purge. Just five days from securing permanent employment status, his job loss forced his wife to end maternity leave early and return to full-time work– separating her from their newborn. Gabriel is one of nearly 6,000 veteranswho has been fired from their federal job.
Read the exclusive in the Hartford Courant here
“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,” said Rep. Courtney.
“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,” said Gabriel D’Alatri. “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.”
In Washington, Rep. Courtney has been fighting back to protect workers like Gabriel and help them return to work. He 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 January 20, 2025 to be eligible to get their 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, Rep. 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.
Gabriel is a first generation Italian-American. Driven by a duty to serve the country that afforded him and his family new opportunities, 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. Both Gabriel and his brother were later medically discharged following injuries during their tours of duty.
After separating from the Marine Corps as an E4, Gabriel 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 February 25, 2025.
Gabriel was laid off five days earlier, on February 20, 2025, as part of President Trump’s executive order on February 11, “Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
Download a headshot of Gabriel here.
Download a photo of Gabriel and his wife, Sarah, here.
Download a photo of Congressman Courtney meeting with Gabriel, here.