Resistance strikes the Senate over the new dress code

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Finally. It looks like Democrats realize that changing the rules for one senator out of 100 is not the thing to do. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tossed out the dress code that has been in place forever and decided senators can wear whatever they want to wear on the Senate floor.

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Schumer instructed the staff of the Sergeant-at-Arms (the Senate’s clothes police) to stop enforcing the dress code. Republicans spoke out right away, saying it was the end of decorum and the lowering of long-held standards. Democrats, though, did what they do best. They held together. The only one speaking out was Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) who mocked critics and said he was pleased with the change.

Fetterman doesn’t like to wear suits so he doesn’t. He wears gym shorts, hoodies, and sneakers to work in the Senate. He looks completely out of place and slovenly. It is as if he is cosplaying as a teen going to the gym.

Then, lo and behold, the silence of Democrats began to break. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate Democrat Majority Whip, spoke out. Durbin speaking out against Schumer is very rare. That means his words will carry weight. Durbin said that the Senate must reverse Schumer’s unilateral decision. “I’m concerned about it. You know, the Senator in question from Pennsylvania is a personal friend,” Durbin told SiriusXM host Steve Scully in a clip from “The Briefing with Steve Scully,” which is set to air in full on Friday.

“I think we need to have standards when it comes to what we’re wearing on the floor of the Senate. And we’re in the process of discussing that right now as to what those standards will be,” Durbin said.

He went further and told Scully he “can’t understand” what Schumer was thinking, before calling on the Senate to overrule the decision.

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It’s is likely that Durbin found his voice when he did because a group of 46 Republican senators sent a letter to Schumer demanding that he reverse the decision on the dress code. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) led the effort. He said that allowing casual dress on the Senate floor “disrespects the institution.” He’s right about that.

“The Senate is a place of honor and tradition, and the Senate floor is where we conduct the business of the American people. It is where we debate the policies which impact every American family and, when necessary, it is where we must make the gravest decision imaginable – whether to send our fellow Americans into battle to defend the freedoms we all hold dear. The world watches us on that floor and we must protect the sanctity of that place at all costs,” they wrote.

“Allowing casual clothing on the Senate floor disrespects the institution we serve and the American families we represent. We the undersigned members of the United States Senate write to express our supreme disappointment and resolute disapproval of your recent decision to abandon the Senate’s longstanding dress code for members, and urge you to immediately reverse this misguided action.”

The letter was signed by almost every GOP senator except for Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

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The three Republicans who didn’t sign the letter is an interesting twist in the story. I wonder why they either objected to returning to the original rule or maybe they weren’t avaliable to sign the letter. Braun is running for governor in Indiana and Katie Britt has been working from home while she recovers from an illness. I don’t know of any reason Hawley wouldn’t sign on.

Fetterman behaves as a spoiled child. His behavior is unbecoming to his position. He found a way to vote in the Senate without going on the floor and following the dress code. He voted from the cloakroom by standing in the doorway and loudly delivering his vote. Why did Schumer feel compelled to change that?

Fetterman said America is about freedom and choice. That may be true but in some situations, especially professional situations, rules are to be followed. He’s a U.S. senator acting like a spoiled brat. Most men don’t prefer to wear a suit, given a choice, but they do out of respect of their job. Being a senator is a privilege and not a right. When he was Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania, Fetterman wore a suit as he presided over the state senate. On Thursday, he wore a t-shirt to preside over the U.S. Senate. I assume he had on the shorts, too. The camera shot was of him sitting down.

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Not one to miss an opportunity for a little publicity, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) plans to put forth a resolution to bring back the dress code. His office confirmed that it has bipartisan support. It will require a return to the dress code that was in place last week – business attire—coats and ties for the men and dresses and suits for the women—on the Senate floor.

Democrats are destroying America at a fast enough rate. They don’t have to destroy basic decorum in the Senate, too.

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