DOGE

The Trump administration has cut more than $1 billion in National Science Foundation grants, but the campus in Rolla is still winning awards — for now.

At the Kansas City offices of the Social Security Administration, Chandler McGinnis answered customer calls throughout the shutdown, without pay. She heard from parents worried about feeding their kids, and from patients denied cancer treatment after being kicked off Medicare. “It was emotionally tearing me down, because I want to fix it and I can't.”

Employees at the General Services Administration are scrambling to lease offices to accommodate a rapid increase of immigration enforcement officers carrying out widespread raids across the country. Kansas City is one of the places where federally-owned or leased property might be used.

When the Trump administration revoked $2.3 million from a Kansas state agency, it hit rural communities hard. Housing providers already stretched thin closed their doors while others found temporary life rafts, bracing for what's next.

The federal lawsuit targets decisions from President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate billions in funding for law enforcement, medical and scientific research, food benefits, education and more.

The proposal from Secretary Brooke Rollins calls for cutting 2,600 of the department's 4,600 jobs in the D.C. area and expanding the department’s footprint in five regional hubs, including Kansas City.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it plans to relocate thousands of employees to five offices around the country. But the Trump administration's previous plan to move staff to Kansas City, back in 2019, caused a mass exodus and a significant drop in productivity.

Shannon Ellis, head of the union that represents Kansas City IRS employees, said the Trump administration won’t even confirm how many local federal workers have been lost. But she said that the layoffs and policy changes are demoralizing and delaying critical services.

Many federal workers in Kansas City have seen their jobs and departments cut and their work devalued under the Trump administration. We're bringing you another conversation about the Department of Government Efficiency's impacts in town, this time with a local union representative for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Jeff Suchman, president of the union representing local U.S. Department of Labor employees, says that layoffs and budget cuts have undercut basic functions like workplace safety and child labor investigations. He argues the Trump administration is trying to destroy morale to get more employees to leave.

Many federal workers in Kansas City are seeing their jobs and departments cut and their work devalued under the Trump administration. We're bringing you another conversation about DOGE's impacts in town — this time with a local union representative for the U.S. Department of Labor.

National Weather Services offices lack meteorologists after the Trump administration implemented cuts and a hiring freeze. With the Pleasant Hill location near Kansas City understaffed by 40%, Missouri offices are attempting a Band-Aid solution to keep an eye on the weather.