Democratic Senator Joe Manchin will present a bipartisan proposal that aims to restore the dress code in the Senate, as confirmed by his spokesperson to the Daily Caller:
Next week, Senator Manchin intends to file a bipartisan resolution to ensure the Senate dress code remains consistent with previous expectations.
This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eliminated the decades-old rule imposing a dress code for Senate attendees. Until now, members were required to wear suits in the Senate chamber.
"Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit," Schumer told Axios.
One of the clear beneficiaries of Schumer's measure was Democrat John Fetterman, who had been coming to the Senate floor dressed in a sweatshirt and shorts since he returned from his depression leave in May.
Criticism from Republicans and Democrats
Manchin is not the only Democrat who is against the measure. Speaker Dick Durbin, the second highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, argued the need to have "standards" in Congress. In an interview on the SiriusXM program he commented:
The senator in question from Pennsylvania is a personal friend, but I think we need to have standards. ... I want to give him the benefit of the doubt until I speak to him but I think the Senate needs to act on this.
No. 2 Sen. Democrat Dick Durbin (IL) isn't happy about Leader Schumer ending the dress code: “I want to give him the benefit of the doubt…but I think Senate needs to act on this.”
“The senator in question from PA is a personal friend, but I think we need to have standards...” pic.twitter.com/vjFUDPD0JP
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
On the Republican side, the criticism did not take long to arrive. Congressmen such as Shelley Moore Capito considered the elimination of the dress code "terrible." The same opinion was expressed by Maine Senator Susan Collins, who mocked the new rule, saying that she would go to Congress in a "bikini," per NBC. Others like Justin Amash, Marjorie Taylor Greene and John Cornyn also decided to express their disapproval of this change on X (formerly Twitter).
The reaction led Senator Rick Scott to send a letter, signed by almost all Republicans in the Senate, demanding that Schumer revoke his decision, arguing that the Senate floor is "a place of honor and tradition."
230919 Letter to Schumer Senate Dresscode_FINAL by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
