Well, that didn’t last long. On Wednesday Senate voted to restore sartorial dignity in the chamber, passing a resolution to require business dress on the Senate floor. Which means that Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will have to ditch the slob look if he wants to take to the floor.

And wonder of wonders — the vote was unanimous. When did anyone ever expect that to happen?

The resolution specified that men wear coats, ties, and slacks, while women are to wear dresses and suits.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) led the bipartisan charge to bring dignity back to the Senate. Manchin said:

For 234 years, every senator that has had the honor of serving in this distinguished body has assumed there were some basic written rules of decorum, conduct, and civility, one of which was a dress code. Just over a week ago, we all learned that there were not, in fact, any written rules about what senators could and could not wear on the floor of the Senate. So Sen. Romney and I got together, and we thought maybe it’s time that we finally codify something that was the precedented rule for 234 years.

While Schumer, who first relaxed the dress code, admitted he was defeated:

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. I deeply appreciate Sen. Fetterman working with me to come to an agreement that we all find acceptable, and of course I appreciate Sen. Manchin and Sen. Romney’s leadership on this issue.

Both Sides Had Objected to Relaxed Senate Rules

After Schumer relaxed the dress code on the Senate floor, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) fired off a letter demanding a reversal to the relaxed dress code. Forty-five other Republican senators joined him.

Scott 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.

But it wasn’t just stodgy conservatives who grumbled about the lax dress code. Aside from Manchin, other Democrats openly criticized Schumer’s decision.

For example, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) complained on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel:

We need to have standards when it comes to what we’re wearing on the floor of the Senate.

Meanwhile Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) announced that he was still going to dress in business attire, and he expected his staff to do likewise:

I am not going to change what I’m doing, I will just tell you that. My personal opinion is, you got to dress respectfully.

John Fetterman, however, blew off these objectors:

It’s all irrelevant and silly. They don’t want to talk about the real issues because they have indefensible positions.

They want to talk about, you know, that I dress like a slob. 

Well, he does indeed dress like a slob. And good for the senators on both sides of the aisle who called him out on it.

Fetterman Reacts to the Senate Dress Code

After Schumer reinstated the business dress code, Fetterman sent out this odd statement — a photo of actor Kevin James from the sitcom The King of Queens.

https://t.co/YhYZJfXsHM pic.twitter.com/sV9NiaAswJ

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 27, 2023

That’s Fetterman’s not-so-subtle middle finger to his colleagues who demand decorum on the Senate floor. Meanwhile, he said the whole issue was a non-starter anyway.

I continue to vote from the door, and when I ever speak on the floor, I was always going to wear a suit. So this is just a non-issue.

Vote from the door? 

This is an option Senators have when they are returning from the gym to vote, and don’t have time to change. They are allowed to stand in the doorway of the Senate cloakroom and vote. So while senators might use the vote-from-the-door option in unusual circumstances, apparently Fetterman plans to make it his modus operandi.

Besides, how often do you think Fetterman will make speeches on the Senate floor anyway?

Dressing in DC

In 2022, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, DC, with a Republican women’s group. When we toured the Capitol and met with our Representatives and Senators, we dressed in business attire — dresses or dress pants with a jacket. All the young Congressional staffers we met with were professionally attired as well.

We had lunch with one of our congressmen at the Capitol Hill Club, a social club for Republicans. Downstairs, while we waited for our dining room to be ready, we visited with this man who shined shoes just inside the club entrance.

Personal image.

He was so friendly and engaging with everyone who entered the club that I asked if I could take his picture.

“You’re not going to say mean things about me on social media, are you?” he joked.

No, of course not.

Part of this man’s charm, I think, was that he dressed to the nines, even to the rakish straw hat. Certainly I wasn’t the only person who thought so — the portrait behind him was a gift from a club member.

John Fetterman should take a lesson from the shoe shine man at the Capitol Hill Club and ditch the gym rat garb, especially in the halls of the Capitol.

Featured image: “Dress for the Job You Want.” Photoshop by BrandX Studio.