Dick Durbin breaks with Schumer on Fetterman dress code change
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, blasted the recent dress code easing for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) — and suggested the upper chamber “needs to act on this.”
“I’m concerned about it. The senator in question from Pennsylvania is a personal friend, but I think we need to have standards,” Durbin told “The Briefing with Steve Scully” on SiriusXM in an interview airing Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed the policy change Sunday, while insisting, “I will continue to wear a suit.”
“I can’t understand exactly what he was thinking at that point,” a seemingly baffled Durbin replied when asked about Schumer’s rationale for the switch.
“I want to give him the benefit of the doubt until I speak to him but I think the Senate needs to act on this.”
With the dress-down change, senators can wear whatever they want while standing on the Senate floor — and Fetterman took advantage Wednesday when he oversaw votes.
At the helm of the hallowed chamber where colleagues and Senate staffers wore snappy suits, Fetterman donned a baggy dark-colored button-down T-shirt, knee-length shorts, and sneakers.
Fetterman wore a similar getup for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Capitol Thursday.
Backlash against the relaxed dress code change was swift and fierce. Nearly every Republican senator signed a letter to Schumer protesting the lenient standard.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.) even joked about wearing a bikini to votes.
And Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) also derided the downgraded wardrobe rules.
Fetterman, who all-but abandoned any effort to comply with traditional Senate dress standards after he was discharged from the hospital in late March, has gone into full troll mode online.
On Wednesday, he offered to dress like a senator if Republicans met a few of his demands.
“If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week,” Fetterman (D-Pa.) posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The 54-year-old Pennsylvania senator also got crass with some foes, knocking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for parading “ding-a-ling” pictures during a committee hearing, and chastising Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) for “grabbing the hog during a live musical.”
Prior to the rule change, senators were instructed to wear coats and ties while standing on the Senate floor.
And for months, Fetterman would shout “yea” or “nay” from the cloakrooms near the floor in lieu of donning business attire.
He has worn a suit sparingly, including when he was first sworn into office in January.
Although the standard has been eased for senators, both visitors and staffers are still obliged to comply with the traditional dress code and wear business-appropriate clothing.
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