OFF THE CUFF

Schumer Chucks Enforcement of Dress Code on Senate Floor: Report

“Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor,” the Senate Majority Leader said. “I will continue to wear a suit.”

Senators looking to dress a little more casually on the chamber floor will no longer be caught with their pants down, according to Axios. The outlet reported Sunday that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer quietly scrapped the Senate’s dress code for members, directing the sergeant at arms—its chief protocol and law enforcement officer—to stop enforcing it. “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor,” Schumer said in a statement to Axios. “I will continue to wear a suit.” A Senate official told the outlet that the change will go into effect this week, and will only apply to senators. It is unclear whether the Senate’s dress code is an official, codified policy or more of an unspoken etiquette, according to Axios, but conventional understanding previously required all senators to wear business attire on the floor. The new directive is expected to benefit both lawmakers like Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who favors sweatshirts and gym shorts, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who in 2021 showed up on Capitol Hill to vote in his gym clothes, telling reporters the vote had been scheduled “in the middle” of his basketball game.