Kansas City Today

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver responds to redistricting threat

By Brian Ellison,

Published September 2, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

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Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who has represented much of Kansas City since 2005, may be the target of the country's next redistricting effort. If Missouri joins Texas in redrawing congressional lines to benefit Republicans, Cleaver warns that lawmakers will "need to dig three graves."

Cleaver spoke to Up To Date's Steve Kraske about President Trump's redistricting push, and his warnings for the state of American democracy.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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Brian Ellison

As a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.

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Byron J. Love

As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.

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