Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has put forward a proposal to restore the Senate’s dress code after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this week that senators would no longer have to adhere to strict dress requirements. There has been much speculation the change was designed to accommodate Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who prefers to wear hoodies and athletic shorts. The decision received bipartisan backlash, including from Senate Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who said the Senate should have “standards” during an interview this week. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) even called those who wanted to reverse Schumer’s order “the coalition of the rational,” a phrase he used before when discussing the adoption of gun restrictions following the Uvalde, Texas school shooting. One person familiar with Manchin’s goals said he wanted to return the policy to what it was last week: requiring senators to wear business attire while on the chamber floor.
