Kansas City, Missouri –  Shea Giagnorio worked for the federal government for 28 years, providing day care for the children of US servicemen, employee training, and management of safety net programs.

Her public service career carried her from Germany to Alaska to Kansas City, Missouri, where she relocated last year for a long-awaited promotion.

But when she arrived at a downtown federal building for work one day last month, her access card didn’t function. After a coworker let her into the building, she saw her email: her entire office had been fired in the latest round of layoffs authorized by President Donald Trump.

The 46-year-old single mom has canceled her apartment agreement, is selling her new furnishings, and may have to withdraw her daughter from college. She is concerned about what will happen to the at-risk populations served by her team at the Administration for Children and Families, which is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

“Not only me, but all these peoples’ lives are turned upside down,” declared Giagnorio.

The impact of Trump appointees’ cuts and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency can be detected all around the Kansas City metropolitan region, which has long been a significant hub for federal agencies located approximately 1,000 miles from Washington, D.C. Money promised to the region for public health, environmental, diversity, food aid, and a variety of other initiatives has been cut, putting thousands of local employment in peril.

With approximately 30,000 employees, the federal government is the region’s main employer. One long-time Kansas City economic researcher predicts the region might lose 6,000 well-paying government positions, displacing thousands more in service companies.

An IRS employee stated that thousands of her coworkers are afraid of losing their jobs, while working extra to process tax returns in a building so congested that they can’t locate desks. Under pressure, hundreds more people agreed to retire early or accept a buyout this week.

“It’s a kick in the stomach for people who are doing everything they can to meet the requirements,” said Shannon Ellis, a long-time IRS customer service representative and head of the local workers’ union.

By Thursday, at least 238 Kansas City employees had accepted buyout offers and were likely to quit the agency in the following weeks. Ellis added that many of those same employees had been told they were vital and had to work overtime during tax season, often seven days a week.

A grant denial by the United States Department of Agriculture derailed a historically Black neighborhood’s desire to extend its program for producing fresh vegetables amid a food desert. A nearby pantry halved its monthly purchase allowance for individuals in need after federal budget cuts left food banks understaffed.

Rosie Warren, an urban farmer, cultivated 2,500 pounds of fruits and vegetables in community gardens last year to help feed the Ivanhoe neighborhood, where many Black families were concentrated under housing segregation rules for much of the twentieth century.

Warren collected greens, potatoes, and watermelons as part of a campaign to combat food insecurity and health issues in a community plagued by blight, violence, and poverty. She was overjoyed last fall when the USDA awarded the community council a three-year, $130,000 grant to grow the gardens and farmers’ market in the region.

In February, the council received word that the grant had been terminated. The USDA decided that the award “no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and activities.”

“What do you do if you don’t believe in providing access to food for those who do not have it? “Won’t this make your job easier?” She said. “I think that is absurd. “It makes no sense.”

The loss of federal funds for new lab equipment and vaccines means that the city may be less prepared for the next epidemic.

The Kansas City Health Department’s laboratory is in desperate need of an upgrade, as the equipment dates back to when the building first built in the 1990s.

One basement space is water-damaged and rarely used. Another’s equipment is so insufficient that the city must ship samples to a state laboratory 150 miles away, resulting in inefficiencies, agonizing wait times for results, and delayed responses.

However, the funding for lab upgrades was abruptly cut last month as part of the Trump administration’s $11.4 billion suspension of federal funds to states for public health.

An HHS representative stated that the agency’s reduction, which includes job cuts and division consolidation, will save money and increase efficiency. Regarding the $11.4 billion in grant funding cuts, the spokeswoman stated, “HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a nonexistent pandemic that Americans have moved on from years ago.”

The IRS has provided a similar explanation for its downsizing, claiming that it is improving processes to better serve the public in the long run.

Last year, Musk predicted that Trump’s budget cuts would cause “temporary hardship” before returning the economy to a better foundation.

One local economic expert said it was unknown how severe the hardship would be in Kansas City, including if it would just halt growth or result in population losses.

“It’s a big burden that’s being placed on a narrow group of people,” said Frank Lenk, director of the Office of Economic Development at the Mid-America Regional Council, a nonprofit that represents municipal and county governments in the Kansas municipal area. “It will definitely take some of the steam out of the local economy.”

Trump has credited DOGE with putting an end to “the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars,” saving billions to help restore the nation’s finances.

The White House did not respond to inquiries concerning Kansas City. However, Trump reportedly stated that he will welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House to make up for a 2020 Super Bowl win celebration that was canceled because to the epidemic.