Emanuel Cleaver

Early life, education, and career

Emanuel Cleaver II was born on October 26, 1944, in Waxahachie, Texas. 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. Cleaver then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.

Cleaver was the pastor at the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1972 to 2009.

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. He was Kansas City's first African American mayor.

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."

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. Cleaver is also a cousin of the late Eldridge Cleaver, another prominent figure in the Black Panther Party.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:

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

Caucus membership

• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment
• Rare Disease Caucus

Tenure

During his tenure, Cleaver has voted with the Democratic Party 95.8% of the time. He has been recognized as "not shy about earmarks" and has brought many federal tax dollars back to Kansas City. As of 2022, he had voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.

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."

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".

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.

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.

Political campaigns

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. 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." 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." According to BlackMissouri.com., 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.

Electoral history

Personal life

Emanuel Cleaver and his wife, Dianne, have four children. They reside in Kansas City.

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.

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. In 2013, the lawsuit was settled.

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.

References

References

1. "CLEAVER, Emanuel, II".
2. "Congressional Record Extensions of Remarks Articles".
3. Cheam, Bunthay. (2007-04-08). "Emanuel Cleaver (1944- ) •".
4. "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress – Retro Member details".
5. "History » St. James UMC".
6. (2017-02-02). "Black History Month: Emanuel Cleaver II".
7. David Helling, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180614065549/https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/dave-helling/article213011289.html KC's best and worst mayors: Where does Sly James rank?], ''Kansas City Star'' (June 12, 2018).
8. McKinley, James C. Jr.. (November 23, 1997). "A Black Panther's Mellow Exile: Farming in Africa". The New York Times.
9. (2015-11-04). "Office Space: Emanuel Cleaver's BBQ House".
10. "List of Standing Committees and Select Committees of the House of Representatives". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
11. "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus.
12. "Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute".
13. (February 6, 2023). "Congressional Equality Caucus Members".
14. "Membership". Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment.
15. "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus". Every Life Foundation for Rare Diseases.
16. "Voting Statistics for Emanuel Cleaver". The Political Guide.
17. "Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II". Jackson County Democratic Committee.
18. (2021-04-22). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?".
19. Kraske, Steve. (June 15, 2012). "Cleaver wants ethics charges against Waters, Rangel dropped". The Kansas City Star.
20. Kim, Seung Min. (August 1, 2011). "House liberals roar". Politico.
21. Panetta, Grace. (December 18, 2019). "WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump".
22. (September 11, 2014). "FBI Probes Vandalism as Congressman's Office". ABC News.
23. link. (August 22, 2007 ''hillaryclinton.com'', August 21, 2007)
24. [http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/10266 Cleaver: Black superdelegates backing Clinton are being "threatened"] ''Kansas City Star'', Keith Chrostowski, February 28, 2008
25. [http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/trailhead/archive/2008/04/01/what-not-to-say-on-canadian-radio.aspx What Not To Say on Canadian Radio] {{Webarchive. link. (March 7, 2009 , Christopher Beam, ''Slate'', April 1, 2008)
26. [http://blackmissouri.com/digest/emanuel-cleaver-of-missouri-endorses-hillary-clinton.html Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri Endorses Hillary] ''blackmissouri.com'', February 15, 2008
27. Demirjian, Karoun. (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times.
28. (2023-10-25). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session".
29. "Full Biography". U.S. House of Representatives.
30. 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.
31. (April 6, 2012). "BOA sues Cleaver, company for $1.5 million". BusinessWeek.
32. (April 6, 2012). "Taxpayers could have to cover Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's bad loan". The Kansas City Star.
33. [https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article317823.html Bank, U.S. Rep. Cleaver settle lawsuit over car wash], ''Kansas City Star'' (April 17, 2013).
34. Cleaver's congressional wages were [[Garnishment. garnished]] to repay the money owed.Dave Helling, [https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article339514.html Court issues order to garnish Emanuel Cleaver’s congressional wages in car wash case], ''Kansas City Star'' (February 18, 2014).
35. (June 30, 2023). "Playbook: Rahm Emanuel is not done with politics".