SE Kansas City News

U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, who has represented Missouri’s 5th District since 2005, posted a series of statements on July 25, 2025, criticizing recent actions by the Trump administration and celebrating a legal victory for Planned Parenthood.

In his first post at 17:54 UTC, Cleaver expressed concern over the Federal Communications Commission's decision regarding media ownership. He stated, "I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the President should not be reshaping the media landscape to serve his political ends. The FCC greenlighting a merger that hands even more media power to a Trump-aligned executive isn’t policy, it’s propaganda by design. Democracy suffers".

Later that day at 18:44 UTC, Cleaver addressed proposed policies concerning homelessness and social services under former President Donald Trump’s administration. He wrote, "Trump wants to criminalize and institutionalize the unhoused while slashing funding for housing, mental health care, and veterans’ services. You don’t get to gut the social safety net AND cage the fallout. This executive order is just cruelty masquerading as policy."

Cleaver also commented on a recent court decision related to Planned Parenthood at 21:04 UTC. He stated, "This is a win for Planned Parenthood and the patients who rely on it. The Trump-era push to defund essential care is always about politics and never about vital health care. While the court’s decision is encouraging, we won’t stop fighting until everyone, everywhere, is able to".

Emanuel Cleaver was born in Waxahachie, Texas in 1944 and currently resides in Kansas City. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Cleaver succeeded Karen McCarthy as representative of Missouri's 5th district in Congress.