Emanuel Cleaver

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is an American politician and United Methodist pastor serving as the U.S. representative for Template:Ushr since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 51st mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1991 to 1999, becoming the first Black person to hold that role.

Cleaver represents a district that primarily consists of the inner ring of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including nearly all of Kansas City and some of its suburbs in Clay and Jackson counties, including North Kansas City, Gladstone, Independence, Lee's Summit, and some of Blue Springs. He chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 2011 to 2013.

In his 11th term in Congress Template:As of, Cleaver previously served three terms on the Kansas City Council from 1979 to 1991, until he was elected mayor, serving two terms from 1991 to 1999.

Early life, education, and career

Emanuel Cleaver II was born on October 26, 1944, in Waxahachie, Texas.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> He grew up in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, in 1972.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cleaver then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cleaver was the pastor at the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1972 to 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kansas City councilman and mayor

Cleaver served as a Kansas City councilman from 1979 to 1991 and as mayor of Kansas City from 1991 until 1999.<ref name=":1" /> He was Kansas City's first African American mayor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

David Helling, an opinion columnist for the Kansas City Star, wrote of Cleaver's tenure as mayor: "Kansas City's first African-American mayor defined the modern concept of the job: a professional staff, high visibility and a clear agenda. He was also a moral leader. His speech at a local rally after the Rodney King verdict averted a riot and was his finest moment. Yet Cleaver's actual record as mayor is spotty. Tax and spending initiatives floundered at the polls, and City Hall scandal was common. The crime rate was far too high."<ref>David Helling, KC's best and worst mayors: Where does Sly James rank?, Kansas City Star (June 12, 2018).</ref>

Cleaver is a cousin of exiled Kansas City Black Panther leader Pete O'Neal. In 1997, Cleaver unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a pardon for O'Neal from President Bill Clinton.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cleaver is also a cousin of the late Eldridge Cleaver, another prominent figure in the Black Panther Party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets
  • Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance (Ranking Member)

Caucus membership

• Congressional Black Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Congressional Equality Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rare Disease Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tenure

During his tenure, Cleaver has voted with the Democratic Party 95.8% of the time.<ref name="Voting Statistics">Template:Cite web</ref> He has been recognized as "not shy about earmarks" and has brought many federal tax dollars back to Kansas City.<ref name="Cleaver JCDC Biography">Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2022, he had voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cleaver has called for ethics charges against fellow U.S. Representatives Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters to be dropped, saying, "The process has been tainted."<ref name="Cleaver ethics charges dropped">Template:Cite news</ref>

After the compromise Budget Control Act deal had been reached to resolve the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis, Cleaver called the deal a "sugar-coated Satan sandwich".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On December 18, 2019, Cleaver voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and is one of only two Missouri House members to do so, along with Lacy Clay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Office attack

On September 11, 2014, around 2:50 a.m., what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of Cleaver's Kansas City office. He was in Washington D.C. at the time and no staff members were present during the attack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political campaigns

File:Emanuel Cleaver, official Congressional photo portrait.JPG

Cleaver during the 110th Congress

In late 2003, Karen McCarthy, who had represented the 5th congressional district since 1995, announced her retirement. Though he served in city government for 20 years, including eight as mayor, Cleaver initially posted weak numbers in the Democratic primary and general elections, but defeated former Clinton Administration official Jamie Metzl in the Democratic primary, 60%-40%. In the general election, Republican Jeanne Patterson made the race far more competitive than conventional wisdom would suggest for the district, which has long been reckoned as Missouri's second-most Democratic district, behind the St. Louis-based 1st. The Democrats have held this seat for all but eight years since 1909, and without interruption since 1949. McCarthy won 65% of the vote in 2002.

2008 Democratic presidential primary election

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Cleaver endorsed Hillary Clinton.<ref>Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II Endorses Clinton Template:Webarchive hillaryclinton.com, August 21, 2007</ref> He claimed that African American superdelegates who supported Clinton were subjected to harassment, threatened with primary opponents and called "Uncle Tom." He said they were told, "'You’re not black if you’re not supporting Barack Obama' … It's ugly."<ref>Cleaver: Black superdelegates backing Clinton are being "threatened" Kansas City Star, Keith Chrostowski, February 28, 2008</ref> On March 30, 2008, Cleaver said he realized he was on the losing team: "Even though I don't expect the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Indianapolis Colts, I cheer for the Kansas City Chiefs."<ref>What Not To Say on Canadian Radio Template:Webarchive, Christopher Beam, Slate, April 1, 2008</ref> According to BlackMissouri.com.,<ref>Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri Endorses Hillary blackmissouri.com, February 15, 2008</ref> U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois asked Cleaver, "If it comes down to the last day and you're the only superdelegate? … Do you want to go down in history as the one to prevent a black from winning the White House?" Cleaver said, "I told him I'd think about it." Cleaver said during the primary he'd be shocked if Obama wasn't the next president but made clear he still supported Clinton until she suspended her bid.

Political positions

Cleaver voted to provide Israel with support following the October 7 attacks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Emanuel Cleaver and his wife, Dianne, have four children. They reside in Kansas City.<ref name="Cleaver Full Biography">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2000, a road in Kansas City was renamed Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard. The new route consisted of Brush Creek Blvd., E. 47th St., and the portion of Van Brunt Blvd. south of 31st St.<ref>City of Kansas City [MO] (June 15, 2000). Ordinance #000771, Council of Kansas City. kcmo.org, passed June 15, 2000, effective June 25, 2000. Retrieved from http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/LiveWeb/Documents/Document.aspx?q=Kuh8rXvHZqk3AMAQH1LHksLCIicTHNYXojLZy1x/0AsdOxTi42VHlGoLabg22X7B.</ref>

In 2012, Bank of America sued Emanuel and Dianne Cleaver and Cleaver Company LLC, alleging that the company had defaulted on a $1.46 million commercial real estate loan obtained a decade earlier for a Grandview car wash.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=SettleSuit>Bank, U.S. Rep. Cleaver settle lawsuit over car wash, Kansas City Star (April 17, 2013).</ref> In 2013, the lawsuit was settled.<ref name=SettleSuit /> Cleaver's congressional wages were garnished to repay the money owed.<ref>Dave Helling, Court issues order to garnish Emanuel Cleaver’s congressional wages in car wash case, Kansas City Star (February 18, 2014).</ref>

In June 2023, Emanuel Cleaver officiated the wedding of fellow Democratic Congressman and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of African-American United States representatives
• 2024 Kansas City metropolitan area rent strike

External links

• Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II official U.S. House website
• Emanuel Cleaver for Congress

• Template:C-SPAN

Template:S-start Template:S-off Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-par Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-inc |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-prec Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end