If you haven’t heard, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer just changed the dress code allowed on the Senate Floor – in other words, there isn’t one now. And Republicans, along with one Democrat, aren’t happy about it.
The “Fetterman rule,” as it has become known, was made official on Sunday via a press conference by Schumer.
“Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit.” Axios reported that Schumer additionally instructed the “Senate’s Sergeant at Arms to no longer enforce the chamber’s informal dress code for its members.”
It is noted that the change only applies to actual senators. Staff members and aides must still dress in suits, etc.
But according to the New York Post, 46 Republicans are thoroughly disgusted by the change.
As Florida Senator Rick Scott wrote in a letter signed by others of the same mind, the whole thing “disrespects the institution.” He noted that the unwritten rule of a more formal dress code has been in place for over 230 years, maintaining that the American people and the policies designed for them were treated with the utmost respect, honor, and dignity.
The Senate floor is a special place. It's not hard to show it some respect and dress like a grown up.https://t.co/jQU6fEwVsa
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 19, 2023
But suddenly, because one senator, one liberal man, doesn’t want to wear anything but hoodies and gym shorts, that’s now all to be thrown aside?
John Fetterman speaks at a press conference on the debt ceiling negotiations. pic.twitter.com/yiXDkFQtMY
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 18, 2023
Scott continued, “The world watches us on that floor and we must protect the sanctity of that place at all costs.”
Naturally, the letter ends by demanding Schumer to “immediately reverse this misguided action.”
True to form, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is hopping the fence on this issue and joining his GOP counterparts.
As Politico’s Ursula Perano reported, Manchin even spoke directly to Fetterman about how “wrong” he thought it was.
Manchin tells me he spoke to Fetterman today about the Senate dress code change
“I said ‘John, I think it’s wrong & there's no way I can comply with that’…Wanted to tell him directly that I totally oppose it & I will do everything I can to try to hold the decorum of the Senate”
— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) September 19, 2023
Here’s to hoping that Schumer and Fetterman don’t get away with this.
