Mike Kehoe
Mike Kehoe is the Governor of Missouri, in office since 2025, and previously served as the state's lieutenant governor. Entries naming him record his signature on legislation and on congressional maps drawn by the Missouri General Assembly.
2026 Events (1)
Missouri Gov. Kehoe signed law cutting off gender-affirming care for trans inmates despite binding 2018 Eighth Amendment ruling
On June 30, 2026, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 2009, a Department of Corrections appropriations bill containing a rider barring state funds from paying for hormone therapy or gender transition surgery for incarcerated transgender people. The provision, inserted by state Rep. Dirk Deaton, took effect July 1-2 and immediately cut off ongoing hormone therapy for trans inmates with no tapering plan, despite a 2018 federal ruling, Hicklin v. Precythe, that found denying such care violates the Eighth Amendment. Deaton said on the House floor in March that he added the provision anticipating a more conservative Eighth Circuit would rule differently, even after Missouri Department of Corrections leadership warned legislators that the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits have consistently found the care medically necessary.
2025 Events (3)
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed GOP-drawn congressional map targeting Rep. Cleaver's Kansas City seat
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a new congressional map into law on September 28, 2025, following a special legislative session called at President Trump's request. The map divides the Kansas City-area 5th District held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, aiming to shift the state's eight-seat U.S. House delegation from six Republicans and two Democrats to seven Republicans and one Democrat, and prompted at least four lawsuits challenging the new lines.
Missouri legislature referred amendment imposing district veto only on citizen ballot initiatives; Kehoe scheduled low-turnout August vote
On September 12, 2025, Missouri's Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final passage to Amendment 4, a legislature-referred constitutional amendment requiring citizen-initiated amendments to win majorities in all eight of the state's congressional districts while exempting amendments the legislature itself refers to the ballot. Eight months later, on May 22, 2026, Gov. Mike Kehoe scheduled the resulting referendum for the historically low-turnout August primary rather than the November general election. The measure followed a string of citizen-led ballot initiatives Republicans had opposed, including Medicaid expansion, marijuana legalization, and abortion rights.
Missouri Gov. Kehoe signed HB3 budget rider conditioning college funding on eliminating DEI programs
On June 30, 2025, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 3, the state's Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development appropriations bill, as part of the FY2026 budget. House Budget Chair Rep. Dirk Deaton had added budget language conditioning state funding for Missouri's public colleges and universities on eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Deaton said the language meant institutions will have to comport with it in order to receive state tax dollars.