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WASHINGTON: In the traditionbound halls of the Senate, customs die hard and rules can be next to impossible to change. But on Monday, a major change had the Capitol abuzz. For the first time in centuries, lawmakers are no longer expected to suit up to conduct business on the Senate floor. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democrat majority leader, has established a new dress code or rather, done away with the old one allowing members to take a more business-casual approach to their workwear. The change involved directing the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms that the previous policy that all senators must be clad in business attire when on the floor is no longer to be enforced. “There has been an informal dress code that was enforced,” Schumer said in a statement. “Senators will now be able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit,” he said.
The modification is in many ways a bow to reality: In recent years, there have been plenty of senators who have departed from the suit-and-tie uniform that for decades was considered the only acceptable attire. It most clearly reflects the influence of Senator John Fetterman, the 6-foot-8, tattooed, first term Democrat from Pennsylvania. After briefly donning a suit and tie for his first few months in Congress, he has recently reverted to wearing his signature Carhartt sweatshirts and baggy shorts. As is the case with any sartorial change in Washington be it footwear, dress colour, suit shade or wigs, the announcement has generated a big reaction. Republican senator Mike Lee was disdainful of the change in rules. “It’s just not that hard to wear a jacket and tie,” he wrote on social media, adding that, “pants are a must, not optional.”
Senators have for decades been informally required to wear business attire: typically suit and tie for men and dresses with covered shoulders or pantsuits for women. The most recent adjustment came in 2019, after Senator Amy Klobuchar successfully pushed leaders to allow women to wear sleeveless dresses. The House also modified its rules of dress in 2019 to allow religious headgear to be worn on the floor for the first time, to accommodate Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, who wears a hijab.
The modification is in many ways a bow to reality: In recent years, there have been plenty of senators who have departed from the suit-and-tie uniform that for decades was considered the only acceptable attire. It most clearly reflects the influence of Senator John Fetterman, the 6-foot-8, tattooed, first term Democrat from Pennsylvania. After briefly donning a suit and tie for his first few months in Congress, he has recently reverted to wearing his signature Carhartt sweatshirts and baggy shorts. As is the case with any sartorial change in Washington be it footwear, dress colour, suit shade or wigs, the announcement has generated a big reaction. Republican senator Mike Lee was disdainful of the change in rules. “It’s just not that hard to wear a jacket and tie,” he wrote on social media, adding that, “pants are a must, not optional.”
Senators have for decades been informally required to wear business attire: typically suit and tie for men and dresses with covered shoulders or pantsuits for women. The most recent adjustment came in 2019, after Senator Amy Klobuchar successfully pushed leaders to allow women to wear sleeveless dresses. The House also modified its rules of dress in 2019 to allow religious headgear to be worn on the floor for the first time, to accommodate Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, who wears a hijab.
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