Politics
Sen Sue Collins might wear bikini to protest Fetterman dress code
By CM Chaney · September 20, 2023
In brief…
- Republican senators wrote a letter urging reinstatement of the Senate dress code requiring business attire, saying it "disrespects the institution."
- Majority Leader Charles Schumer dropped the code after Sen. Fetterman, who often wears shorts and a hoodie, had to vote on several occasions from a doorway of the chamber.
- Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene criticized the change as "lowering the bar" to appease Fetterman, who replied the House has worse conduct.
Republican senators are calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to reinstate the chamber’s dress code requiring business attire on the Senate floor.
In a letter signed by 46 GOP senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the senators argue that relaxing the rules “disrespects the institution.”
“The Senate floor is a special place. It’s not hard to show it some respect and dress like a grown up,” Scott stated in a tweet.
For over 230 years, the Senate has “served the American people with honor and dignity,” and senators must “protect the sanctity of that place at all costs,” the GOP Senators’ letter said. It concludes by urging Schumer to “immediately reverse this misguided action.”
The previous dress code required senators to wear business attire, including jackets and ties for men on the Senate floor. Schumer recently instructed the sergeant-at-arms to stop enforcing the dress code. This followed incidents where Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), wearing his signature shorts and hoodie, had to shout his vote from the doorway rather than entering the chamber in his teen-inspired outfit.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accused the Senate of dropping the dress code simply to “appease” his Democratic colleague Fetterman, saying on Twitter, “Dress code is one of society’s standards that sets etiquette and respect for our institutions. Stop lowering the bar!”
Fetterman replied that the House “lives by a higher code of conduct” in a sarcastic reference to Greene’s display of explicit photos of Hunter Biden during a hearing in July.
The new dress code allows senators like Fetterman to vote in casual clothes from the Senate floor rather than having to shout votes from outside.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joked she would wear a bikini since there is “no dress code anymore,” though she later clarified she wouldn’t do that. Collins was among the senators who signed the letter to Schumer calling for reinstatement of the previous dress code.