Chuck Schumer abandons Senate dress code so John Fetterman can wear sweats to work

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has quietly ensured that the Senate's Sergeant at Arms will no longer enforce an informal dress code that has traditionally been upheld in the Senate chamber.

The change in policy spells good news for Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is notorious for sporting casual clothing such as gym shorts and hoodies over the more common suit and pants typically seen on the floor.

As The Philadelphia Inquirer detailed, "Fetterman, a Democrat, was inaugurated in a suit and tie but has long preferred his signature shorts and Carhartt hoodies."

This new rule is slated to take effect this week, says a Senate official. It will only apply to senators, with staff members still being made to follow the previous dress code.

"Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit," Schumer said in a statement, per Axios.

The Inquirer reported that since the end of his hiatus after seeking treatment for clinical depression, Fetterman has dressed up in a suit and tie when in the Senate chamber but frequently wears casual clothing when he hangs around the Capitol. He also has participated in several votes from the tip of the Senate floor, leaving one foot in the cloakroom. This may indicate that he already has dressed casually on the Senate floor. 

“Great day for John Fetterman’s body double, we don’t have to buy them suits anymore,” Fetterman director of communications Joe Calvello said in reaction to the news. 

Wide swaths of people ridiculed the new rule allowing Senators to forgo suits and ties despite requiring it of their staffers:

Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) reportedly told the Associated Press in May that Fetterman was "setting a new dress code" in what was ostensibly meant to be a joke.