Emanuel Cleaver II

Republicans are on track to pick up an extra seat in Missouri during the 2026 elections after gerrymandering the state's congressional districts. However, a ballot petition campaign could halt and potentially overturn the map.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office argued that the anti-redistricting referendum attempt violates the state and U.S. constitutions by infringing on the legislature's sole authority to draw maps. The federal case is one of multiple legal battles over state lawmakers' mid-decade redistricting effort.

The U.S. House will vote Wednesday to reopen the government. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, who represents Kansas City, opposes the plan because it fails to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that would make insurance more affordable for residents.

After 41 days of a government shutdown, the U.S. Senate passed a set of bills to reopen the government. The House comes back to vote as early as Wednesday afternoon. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II said he will vote against the bill because it does not extend ACA tax credits.

Unless courts intervene, it's looking more likely that Missouri voters will ultimately get to decide the fate of the GOP's congressional map — meaning the gerrymandered districts might not take effect for the 2026 election cycle.

As frustration grows around the weekslong government shutdown, Kansas City-area U.S. Reps. Mark Alford and Emanuel Cleaver II can’t see eye-to-eye on a solution that will benefit their constituents. The two Congress members joined KCUR’s Up To Date to debate what's causing the gridlock in Washington.

Si el cierre del gobierno federal continúa, el Consejo Regional de Mid-America ha declarado que podría verse obligado a cerrar temporalmente los centros de enseñanza preescolar Head Start que atienden a más de 2,300 niños de la Ciudad de Kansas City a partir del 1 de noviembre.

If the federal government shutdown continues, the Mid-America Regional Council said it may need to temporarily close Head Start centers serving more than 2,300 Kansas City children beginning Nov. 1.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is arguing that the referendum is usurping the legislature's power to redraw congressional districts. But lawyers with the anti-redistricting group say Hanaway is "absolutely wrong" about the constitution.

Gov. Mike Kehoe has repeatedly said the plan was drafted in his office. A filing by the attorney general's office says only that "various governmental actors" worked on the plan to give a seat to the GOP.

The state's new congressional map uses Troost Avenue as a dividing line, and groups majority Black neighborhoods in east Kansas City with rural communities in the middle of the state. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored.

The fourth lawsuit to be filed over the recent redistricting plan, this one argues that the Missouri Constitution does not allow lawmakers to revise congressional districts without new census data. It also argues that the districts are not legal because they stretch for hundreds of miles across the state.