Service, Leadership, and a Voice for Missouri
Emanuel Cleaver, II is now serving his eleventh term representing Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, the home district of President Harry Truman. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services; Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance; member of Subcommittee on Capital Markets; and member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.
After serving for twelve years on the city council of Missouri's largest municipality, Kansas City, Cleaver was elected as the city's first African American Mayor in 1991.
During his eight-year stint in the Office of the Mayor, Cleaver distinguished himself as an economic development activist and an unapologetic redevelopment craftsman. He and the City Council brought a number of major corporations to the city, including TransAmerica, Harley Davidson, and Citi Corp. Cleaver also led the effort, after a forty-year delay, to build the South Midtown Roadway. Upon completion of this major thoroughfare, he proposed a new name: The Bruce R. Watkins Roadway. Additionally, his municipal stewardship includes the 18th and Vine Redevelopment, a new American Royal, the establishment of a Family Division of the Municipal Court, and the reconstruction and beautification of Brush Creek.
After coming to Washington, Cleaver continued to prioritize housing and economic development, working tirelessly to bring housing investments to Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District and passing multiple bipartisan overhauls of America’s federal housing programs.
In 2009, As a new member on the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Cleaver was instrumental in national recovery efforts through his work on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including the creation of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which helped stabilize the housing market in Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, and the Green Impact Zone, which targeted more than $125 million of federal investment into the urban core in Kansas City, MO.
During the 112th Congress, Cleaver was unanimously elected the 20th chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. During his chairmanship, Rep. Cleaver established a CBC Jobs Tour around the country to help African Americans connect to available jobs as the country continued to recover from the 2008 financial crisis
In 2016, as Ranking Member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Cleaver successfully co-authored the largest sweeping reform bill on housing programs in 20 years, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, a bipartisan comprehensive housing bill that passed into law with a unanimous vote.
The following Congress, Rep. Cleaver introduced the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act to help low-income families who rely on housing vouchers to move out of poverty and into neighborhoods with better opportunities. The legislation was passed with bipartisan support by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.
In 2018, Congressman Cleaver received the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation. Past honorees include President Bill Clinton, the late Senator John McCain, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
In 2021, Cleaver’s Stabilizing Rural Homeowners During COVID Act , which provided desperately needed assistance to families living in US Department of Agriculture-supported housing was also signed into law.
In 2022, Cleaver worked with US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Fudge, HUD Acting Secretary Todman, HUD officials, and local officials to stabilize Parade Park Homes and chart a path forward to ensure the health of residents and the community. In 2025, Congressman Cleaver successfully secured $15.5 million in federal grant funding to support the rehabilitation of Parade Park Homes, the oldest Black-owned housing cooperative in the nation, with more than 500 affordable housing units in the heart of the 18th & Vine Jazz District.
Cleaver has received five honorary Doctoral Degrees augmented by a bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M, and a master's from St. Paul's School of Theology of Kansas City.
Cleaver, a native of Waxahachie, Texas, his wife, their four children, and grandchildren reside in Kansas City.
Members of the House are responsible for introducing and voting on federal legislation, representing the interests of their constituents, and providing oversight of the executive branch. Key powers include drafting bills, serving on committees, approving the federal budget, and voting on matters of national policy, including declarations of war and presidential impeachments.