Clay voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Clay is a supporter of the Federal Reserve's program of quantitative easing and claims that it has led to economic recovery since the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. On December 18, 2019, Clay was one of only two Missourians in the House to vote for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump, along with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. Clay and his wife Patricia reside in University City, a historic community in Saint Louis County, Missouri. He is the father of two children: Carol and Will.