Sorensen to bring Illinois veteran who lost job in DOGE cuts to State of the Union
A disabled Illinois veteran will be the special guest of U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-17, at Tuesday's State of the Union to help bring awareness to widespread job cuts being made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Monmouth, Illinois, resident James Diaz, who served overseas during the Persian Gulf conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s, was laid off from his job with the Internal Revenue Service in February.
'James' story is one that needs to be heard. He dedicated his life to serving our country, first in uniform and then in public service,' Sorensen said in a news release. 'It is unacceptable that those who sacrificed so much are being treated this way. I'm bringing James to the State of the Union to highlight the real impact of these dangerous and harmful budget cuts on hardworking Americans and veterans who deserve our respect and support.'
Diaz, 59, started work for the IRS on April 8, 2024. He was two months away from completing his probationary period when he lost his job.
'Everything was going great, all the reviews I had gotten were 100 percent-plus,' Diaz said. 'The next thing you know, I got fired, alluding to my poor performance when there wasn't anything to come close to that."
Diaz served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1982-86 and was on active duty from 1986-92. He was injured while working at Camp Doha in Kuwait on July 11, 1991. He was one of 49 soldiers that got hurt in an explosion.
After his time in the Army, Diaz worked in the private sector and eventually earned a bachelor's degree.
Diaz called Sorensen's office after he was laid off. He was angry. He said someone from Sorensen's office called him back and those conversations with Sorensen and others resulted in the invite to the State of the Union.
'How many people get to go to the State of the Union address?' Diaz said. 'How many people have their state representative directly contact them about an issue? I'm impressed that he has taken his time to do this. He could only pick one person to go and he picked me. I'm honored.'
Despite feeling like he is a victim of DOGE, Diaz said he's still a Trump supporter.
'I told Sorensen's office it probably won't make some people happy. I have been a supporter of Trump's agenda,' Diaz said. 'We need to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse.
'But treating anyone the way I was treated, especially someone who has a combat service ribbon who is working for the federal government, someone who gave up a job making $140,000 a year with overtime to end up with a $75,000-a-year job working for the federal government should never be treated the way I was treated. If anybody should have gotten the benefit of the doubt, it should have been our veterans.'
Erich Murphy is a reporter with the Pontiac Daily Leader.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Illinois veteran, victim of DOGE cuts to attend State of the Union
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