Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) presided over the Senate today wearing a dark suit, white shirt, light blues tie—and black sneakers.
The fit came after a back and forth in recent weeks over Fetterman’s attire and what the Senate required that attire to be. Fetterman made headlines by presiding over the Senate in one of his signature hoodies and walking the halls of the chamber in baggy shorts and casual sneakers.
A week and a half ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms that they’d no longer need to enforce the dress code, seen by many as a nod to Fetterman’s outfits, reported the New York Times.
But yesterday, the Senate passed a resolution formalizing a new dress code for men requiring business attire. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and passed unanimously. It requires men to wear a coat, tie, and slack.
Fetterman shrugged off the new dress code with a Kevin James meme yesterday
But Fetterman presided over the Senate today in a suit and was photographed heading into the chamber in his new uniform.
“Fetterman is now wearing a suit as he’s walks into preside in the Senate chamber,’ said Semafor reporter Joseph Zeballos-Roig on X over a shot of Fetterman giving a double thumbs up to the camera wearing the suit.
“Phew!!! Our country is saved!” joked @JackMattera426.
“Yep everyone’s problem with the Legislature has long been the lax adherence to a dress code,” commented @doriath69 sarcastically.
Last week, Fetterman presided over the Senate in a short-sleeved black shirt. C-SPAN producer Craig Caplan highlighted a comment Fetterman made about the dress code.
“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 was reported to have said.
But despite Fetterman wearing a suit now, Congress seems no closer to averting a shutdown. Reuters reported that the odds of a shutdown had grown by the end of the workday. The House was preparing to vote on a partisan spending bill that was unlikely to pass the Senate and the Senate voted on a bipartisan stopgap spending bill which the House is likely to reject.
If the government doesn’t pass a spending bill by Sunday, federal workers and programs will run out of money on Sunday and be shut down while negotiations continue.
Despite not solving the shutdown situation with his sartorial choices, Fetterman’s outfit caught the attention of at least one of his Republican colleagues, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
“Thank you Mr. President, and before I yield the floor, on a personal note, Mr. President, let me say that you’re looking particularly good this afternoon, and I appreciate your courtesy,” Wicker said at the end of a speech about the “border crisis,” where he said that Mexico was home to more “Kremlin agents” than any other country, because of what he characterized as an open border.
“Thank goodness!” @tasha032218 said in response to a picture of Fetterman wearing a suit. “Can’t have a shutdown without everyone being properly dressed!”
