Emanuel Cleaver

Missouri senators are expected to debate and then vote Friday on redistricting that seeks to oust Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver as well as a plan to make it harder to pass citizen-led constitutional amendments.

House Speaker Jon Patterson’s no vote caught the attention of detractors of the redrawn congressional map.

Members of the Missouri House are slated to hold committee hearings on the new map, which aims to oust Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, and limiting amendments on Thursday.

The special session, which will begin Wednesday, will also include trying to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments. Among other changes, any proposed amendment would need a majority of the statewide vote and passage in all eight congressional districts.

The St. Charles County Republican was a strong supporter in 2022 of drawing a map that would have made it much harder for U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, to win another term.

Missouri Republican lawmakers seem to have all the leverage to redraw their congressional lines in September. But if they succeed, it could unleash a torrent of legal and political consequences.

Democratic state Sen. Patty Lewis of Kansas City says a special session on congressional redistricting could backfire on Republicans in a number of ways.

The effort, called for by President Donald Trump, is designed to increase Missouri’s Republican seats from six to seven. Only one seat would be safe for Democrats.

Missouri’s Freedom Caucus wants Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session to redraw Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district.

During a public ceremony in Jefferson City, the former U.S. senator and governor was honored for his accomplishments and for not seeing political parties as a barrier for progress.