Senator Joe Manchin is reportedly circulating a plan to reinstate the Senate’s dress code, to disallow senators to wear whatever they want on the Senate floor.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer amended the dress enforcement over the weekend to accommodate one senator who has mental issues and looks like he’s slept on the basement couch for three days without showering or changing.
The Democratic Caucus in the Senate has been sharing Manchin’s plan to reinstate the clothing code.
On the Senate floor, senators must dress formally. This means a coat and tie or other appropriate business clothes. According to someone knowledgeable about the resolution, it would be the same as the previous clothing code.
A senator said they had signed the bill and said the legislation would be used to establish a uniform dress code.
First-term Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is the “special somebody” for Schumer’s decision. He showed up to the office that day wearing a dark short-sleeved collared shirt and dark shorts. Schumer’s decision was made with Fetterman in mind, as hoodies like Fetterman’s were all the rage on the 2022 campaign road.
Members of both parties, notably Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Illinois), who thinks the Senate should preserve specific standards, have spoken out against the proposal to loosen the dress code.
Durbin said while he considers the senator from Pennsylvania a friend, he does think there should be rules regarding proper apparel while on the Senate floor. When asked on a radio program about the attire of senators, Durbin stated, “I think we need to have standards.” He added that the Senate “needs to take action on this.”
Senator John Cornyn of Texas coined the term “coalition of the sensible” to describe the group of senators from both parties who support reinstating the Senate dress code.
Cornyn said he expected the resolution to be presented to the floor for a vote so that other senators could weigh in on whether or not a clothing code was necessary.
He argued that adjusting the dress code to accommodate the broadest possible range of people is absurd.
