The Senate voted to bring back business attire on the Senate floor, reversing an informal guidance from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Last week, Schumer announced that senators were permitted to wear informal attire when voting or speaking in the chamber.
The guidance followed Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) wearing shorts and sweatshirts.
After voting on the bipartisan resolution from Senators Joe Manchin, (D-WV) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), “business attire be worn on the floor of the Senate, which for men shall include a coat, tie, and slacks or other long pants.”
The resolution did not specify women’s attire.
“Though we’ve never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward,” Schumer said.
In response to the updated guidance, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) tweeted, ″God bless COMMON SENSE.”
Reporting from Newsmax:
The majority leader's original guidance last week was met with immediate pushback in the more formal Senate, with many lawmakers in both parties arguing that the Senate floor should have some standards for dress. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he was "concerned" about it. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that senators "ought to dress up to go to work." Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, jokingly declared she would wear a bikini to work the next day. Fetterman mocked the critics, telling reporters that senators should be focusing on more important things. But he also said that he may not even take advantage of the change. Shortly after the guidance was released, a shorts-wearing Fetterman voted from the doorway, telling reporters that it was "nice to have the option" but he didn't plan on overusing it.
