Rather than boycott President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, some Democratic lawmakers are inviting former federal workers to the speech on Tuesday as a way to protest the mass firings and funding cuts that have defined Mr. Trump’s first month back in office.
Federal workers’ treatment by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has energized constituents across the country in recent weeks, with many overloading lawmakers’ phone lines and showing up at town halls to voice their displeasure.
“What the Democrats are showing with our guests is that it’s the American people who are being hurt by the actions of Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” said Representative Brad Schneider, Democrat of Illinois. Mr. Schneider said he chose not to skip the address — other Democrats such as Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut have said they won’t attend — so that the president “didn’t get a free pass” and would see the effects his administration has had on people.
When asked for comment, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said Democrats were “exploiting the American people for political points.”
Mr. Schneider’s guest, Adam Mulvey, is a 20-year Army veteran who in February was terminated from his role as an emergency management specialist at a federal health center in North Chicago that serves both veteran and active-duty personnel.
Also invited to the address is Gabriel D’Alatri, a Marine Corps veteran and former Internal Revenue Service project manager from Connecticut who was fired just five days before he completed his probationary period. Mr. D’Alatri said his termination letter indicated that he was fired for “performance issues” even though he never had a bad performance review.