性视界传媒

But when she reported to a downtown federal building for work one day last month, her access card did not work. After a co-worker let her into the building, she checked her email: Her entire office had been let go in the ordered by President Donald Trump性视界传媒檚 administration.

The 46-year-old single mom has canceled her apartment lease, is selling her new furniture and may have to pull her daughter out of college. She wonders what will happen to the at-risk populations her team helped serve at the , a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

性视界传媒淣ot only me, but all these peoples性视界传媒� lives are turned upside down,性视界传媒� Giagnorio said.

The impact of the cuts by Trump appointees and can be found everywhere in the Kansas City metropolitan area, which has long been a major hub for federal agencies about 1,000 miles away from Washington, D.C. Money once promised to the region for public health, environmental, diversity, food aid and an array of other programs has been axed, and thousands of local jobs are in jeopardy.

With nearly 30,000 workers, the federal government is the largest employer in the region. One longtime Kansas City economic researcher said he believes the region could lose 6,000 good-paying federal jobs, which in turn would wipe out thousands of others in service industries.

An IRS worker said thousands of her coworkers fear they will lose their jobs, even as they put in overtime processing tax refunds in a building so crowded that they struggle to find desks. Under pressure, hundreds more agreed this week to retire early or take a buyout.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant revocation disrupted a historically Black neighborhood性视界传媒檚 plan to expand its program growing fresh produce in a food desert. A nearby pantry reduced its monthly grocery allotment for those in need after federal cuts left food banks shorthanded.

The withdrawal of federal funding for new lab equipment and vaccines means the city may be less prepared for the next pandemic.

A landlord may have to sell an office building for a loss after his federal tenants were among several that abruptly canceled local leases, adding a glut of real estate to the market.

And the city's Tesla showroom has become a spot of weekly protest. Activists are seeking to have it closed by pushing a referendum intended to drive Musk性视界传媒檚 electric car company out of Missouri.

HHS: Cuts to service for low-income families

The nation's health department is slashing its full-time national workforce from 82,000 to 62,000. Among them were Giagnorio and her colleagues in her agency's 10 regional offices around the country that helped deliver services through programs such as Head Start and emergency assistance for low-income families.

性视界传媒淭he poor will become even more poor now,性视界传媒� Giagnorio said. 性视界传媒淚f we性视界传媒檙e taking away social safety nets, what is the end result? If we性视界传媒檙e not helping homeless people anymore, will they freeze to death in the winter? Is that what we want?性视界传媒�

Giagnorio, who spent most of her career as a U.S. Department of Defense civilian employee at bases in Germany and Alaska, is on paid leave until her June 2 termination. She wasted no time looking for another position after being locked out of her office, visiting a job fair hours later that Kansas City hosted for displaced federal workers.

But she doubts she will be able to find a public sector salary anywhere near the $117,000 she made and doesn性视界传媒檛 know how her skills translate to the private sector. She worries about losing the health insurance that covers her family and having to pull her daughter out of Maastricht University in the Netherlands after her first year.

For now, she can性视界传媒檛 get any answers from the agency to basic questions about her financial future. Does she still qualify for an early retirement buyout offer that had been extended? How much would she receive and when?

IRS: A rush to Tax Day, then layoffs and buyouts

The days leading up to the April 15 tax filing deadline were always going to be busy for workers at the IRS processing center near Union Station, but this year, they were particularly stressful.

The IRS is considering a downsizing that could cut as many as 20,000 employees, or 25% of its workforce, in the coming weeks. The roughly 6,000 employees in Kansas City faced agonizing choices: decide whether to accept resignation or early retirement offers by April 14 or risk losing their jobs later.

性视界传媒淚t性视界传媒檚 a kick in the stomach to people that are doing everything they can to meet what性视界传媒檚 required of them,性视界传媒� said Shannon Ellis, a longtime IRS customer service representative and president of the union representing local workers.

By Thursday, at least 238 Kansas City workers had taken the buyout offers and were expected to leave the agency in coming weeks. Ellis noted many of those same workers had been told they were essential and required to work overtime during tax season, some seven days per week.

Their building has been overcrowded since the IRS ordered remote employees back to the office in March. Workers sometimes struggle to find open desks. Some have to bring their own ink pens and share date stamps to perform basic job functions after budget cuts have depleted supplies.

Ellis said IRS workers share the public性视界传媒檚 disdain for taxes but understand that collecting them is necessary to support important programs like Social Security. She said she性视界传媒檚 decided to take a 性视界传媒渞oll of the dice性视界传媒� and stay in her job, spurning an early retirement offer.

性视界传媒淚 love my job,性视界传媒� she said. 性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檓 not going to let the bully force me out.性视界传媒�

USDA: An urban food desert loses help

Urban farmer Rosie Warren grew 2,500 pounds of fruits and vegetables last year in community gardens to help feed the Ivanhoe neighborhood, where many Black families were concentrated under housing segregation policies of much of the 20th century.

Warren harvested greens, potatoes and watermelons as part of an effort to address food insecurity and health concerns in a neighborhood challenged by blight, crime and poverty. She was ecstatic last fall when the USDA awarded the neighborhood council a three-year, $130,000 grant to expand the gardens and farmers性视界传媒� market serving the area.

Plans called for hiring an assistant to help Warren with growing more food and to add another market day aimed at serving more low-income older adults, mothers and children.

In February, the council received a notice terminating the grant. The USDA had determined the award 性视界传媒渘o longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities.性视界传媒�

On a recent morning, Warren took a break from preparing the soil for planting to ponder the USDA性视界传媒檚 decision.

性视界传媒淲hat do you do if you don性视界传媒檛 support providing access to food to people who don性视界传媒檛 have it? Wouldn性视界传媒檛 this make your job easier?性视界传媒� she said. 性视界传媒淚 think it性视界传媒檚 absurd. It doesn性视界传媒檛 make any sense.性视界传媒�

Other food aid in the neighborhood has taken a hit at a time when demand is rising.

At the Bishop Sullivan Center food pantry, hundreds of low-income families are getting fewer groceries in their monthly pickups after USDA halted $500 million worth of deliveries to food banks. That included a planned order for 41,000 cases of meat, dairy and other commodities to a bank serving Kansas City.

性视界传媒淚t just means giving families less food,性视界传媒� said pantry director Christopher Lowrance, who said he性视界传媒檚 able to provide less chicken and other meat products. 性视界传媒淚t性视界传媒檚 as simple as that.性视界传媒�

Public health: The city lab misses a needed upgrade

The Kansas City Health Department性视界传媒檚 laboratory is badly in need of an upgrade, with equipment dating to when the building opened in the 1990s.

One basement space is water damaged and rarely used. Another has equipment that is so inadequate that the city has to ship samples to a state laboratory 150 miles away, causing inefficiencies, agonizing waits for results and delayed response times.

Kansas City性视界传媒檚 health director, Dr. Marvia Jones, made it a top priority to modernize the labs this year after studying their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her agency planned to use federal funding to purchase new microscopes and testing equipment.

性视界传媒淭hat early disease detection allows you to do more rapid intervention, more rapid treatment, more rapid isolation,性视界传媒� she said.

But the funding for lab upgrades was abruptly eliminated last month as part of the Trump administration's $11.4 billion cancellation of federal grants to states for public health. That news 性视界传媒渃rushed性视界传媒� the department's carefully laid plans, Jones said.

Jones said the cuts, $3 million and counting for her department, mean the city will also have fewer vaccines to administer to low-income residents.

性视界传媒淚t would be a sad shame for us to be in a worse position than we were before the pandemic,性视界传媒� she said. 性视界传媒淲e had processed all of our lessons learned, and then now this happens.性视界传媒�

Real estate: A landlord considers selling his building

Amir Minoofar was surprised when two federal agencies notified him that they planned to vacate the office building he性视界传媒檚 owned for a decade in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.

Minoofar said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had recently agreed to extend its lease until 2029. The National Labor Relations Board, meanwhile, was paying month to month.

Minoofar said the government initially notified him the agencies would be out of the building in August, part of a DOGE-led blitz of that has been marked by errors and subsequent reversals.

In the Kansas City metropolitan area, the government is moving to cancel 10 leases totaling 219,000 square feet that cost more than $4 million in annual rent, according to DOGE性视界传媒檚 online 性视界传媒淲all of Receipts.性视界传媒�

Minoofar said he was more recently told the agencies will likely have to stay past August and their departure date is now unclear. He said he may have to sell the building, which has an appraised value of $2.9 million, and take a loss because of the difficult office market.

But he said he understands why the government would unload the space, which he said has often been sparsely used since the rise of telework during the pandemic.

性视界传媒淏usinesswise, it makes sense for government to cut costs,性视界传媒� he said. 性视界传媒淎 lot of people are going to be unhappy but it性视界传媒檚 a huge gigantic family and they need to take care of it. You cannot keep everybody happy.性视界传媒�

Tesla: Elon Musk's car company faces a statewide campaign

With liberal anger growing at Musk性视界传媒檚 role in the government, protesters have gathered Saturdays outside his Tesla dealership in Kansas City to denounce the cuts.

State records show Tesla sales there have dropped amid calls for a boycott. Now, enough voter anger could even force the business to close.

Organizers of a newly launched 性视界传媒淯nplug Musk性视界传媒� initiative are seeking to use democracy to strike at the world性视界传媒檚 richest man by changing state law to ban car manufacturers from selling directly to consumers.

They say they plan to soon begin gathering the 111,000 signatures of registered voters that they would need to put the change on the statewide ballot in November 2026. If approved by voters, it would force the closure of the Tesla showrooms in Kansas City and St. Louis.

Missouri性视界传媒檚 governor, Republican Mike Kehoe, a former auto dealer himself, sponsored a 2014 bill when he was a state senator aimed at requiring manufacturers like Tesla to sell through local dealers. The bill passed the Senate but died in the House after Tesla lobbied against it. The referendum revives that plan.

性视界传媒淭here性视界传媒檚 not a soul in this country who性视界传媒檚 against trying to weed out government inefficiency but just taking a chain saw to people性视界传媒檚 lives and their health care is a ridiculous way to achieve that. And it is going to cause some devastating impacts,性视界传媒� said organizer Brad Ketcher, a prominent Democrat and lawyer who helped draft the state性视界传媒檚 2022 marijuana legalization referendum.

The administration's response: Temporary hardship

An HHS spokesperson said the agency's downsizing, including cutting jobs and consolidating divisions, would save money and make the organization more efficient. As for the $11.4 billion in grant funding cuts, the spokesperson said, 性视界传媒淗HS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.性视界传媒�

The IRS has offered a similar rationale for its downsizing, saying it is making process improvements that will ultimately more efficiently serve the public.

Musk said last year that Trump性视界传媒檚 budget cuts would cause a 性视界传媒渢emporary hardship性视界传媒� that would soon put the economy on stronger footing.

One local economic researcher said it remained unclear just how deep that hardship will be in Kansas City, including whether it will just slow growth or cause population losses.

性视界传媒淚t's a big burden that性视界传媒檚 being placed on a narrow group of people,性视界传媒� said Frank Lenk, director of the Office of Economic Development at the Mid-America Regional Council, a nonprofit of city and county governments in the Kansas City region. 性视界传媒淚t will definitely take some of the steam out of the local economy."

Trump has credited DOGE with helping end 性视界传媒渢he flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars,性视界传媒� saving billions to help improve the nation性视界传媒檚 finances.

The White House didn't respond to questions about Kansas City. But Trump said recently he would invite the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House to make up for a 2020 Super Bowl victory celebration that was canceled during the pandemic.

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report.