Republicans are blasting the Senate’s newly-relaxed dress code as “disgraceful” and another effort by Democrats to “transform America” and to move the country in a “much less respectful” direction.
Senator Susan Collins (R., Maine), joked with reporters that she could now “wear a bikini” on the Senate floor after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D., N.Y) updated the chamber’s dress code on Sunday, allowing senators to ditch business attire for recreational clothing while in session.
Others who enter the Senate, including interns, must still comply with the more formal dress code, which requires coats and ties for men and business attire for women.
“I think there is a certain dignity that we should be maintaining in the Senate, and to do away with the dress code, to me, debases the institution,” Collins said, according to NBC News.
Many Republicans assumed Schumer’s directive, although not explicitly stated, was made to accommodate Senator John Fetterman (D., Pa.) who wears hoodies and gym shorts at work.
Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, speaking on Fox Business, said the move was “just another step in the movement by the Democrats to transform America, to take us to a place that is much less respectful than we historically have been.”
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said the new dress code “stinks,” according to NBC News, while Senator Shelly Moore Capito of West Virginia said it is “terrible.”
Representative Ryan Zinke (R., Mont.) posted his reaction on X, formerly known as Twitter.
If my interns can put on a suit so can a U.S. Senator.
— Ryan Zinke (@RyanZinke) September 18, 2023
On Sunday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) called the change “disgraceful” and said Fetterman was to blame.
The Senate no longer enforcing a dress code for Senators to appease Fetterman is disgraceful.
Dress code is one of society’s standards that set etiquette and respect for our institutions.
Stop lowering the bar!
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 17, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Monday that Congress should not be “dumbing down our standards” in America.
“So he would campaign in that, which is your prerogative, right? I mean, if that’s what you want to do, but to show up in the United States Senate with that, and not have the decency to put on proper attire. I think it’s disrespectful to the body,” the presidential candidate said.
Fetterman responded to DeSantis’s comments on X.
I dress like he campaigns https://t.co/IXgGmIRNb4
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 18, 2023
Fetterman also called out Greene for her social media post in an interview with MSNBC. He also said other Republicans are “losing their mind” over the dress code and his wardrobe choice.
Democrat Senator John Fetterman responds to concerns over changing the Senate dress code to accommodate his hoodies and gym shorts:
“Her platform, you know, really, she runs on more and more dingaling, you know, pics, you know, on in the meetings over in Congress” pic.twitter.com/t86oC5S7VZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 19, 2023
The Pennsylvania senator is often seen wearing hoodies, shorts, and short-sleeve shirts on Capitol Hill after he underwent mental health treatment earlier this year.
Karl Rove, who was a top aide to former president George W. Bush told Fox News that it was “pathetic” to “lower the decorum of the Senate” and to tell interns that they must appear on the Senate floor in business attire, but “the senator from Pennsylvania can be allowed to come in his hoodie and shorts and his athletic gear.”
Fetterman must be a “very fragile person” if he “can’t dress up in a coat and tie without somehow feeling threatened or abused or awkward,” said Rove, a Fox News contributor.