The US Senate has abolished the official dress code for its staff.
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The US Senate has abolished the official dress code for its staff. From now on, representatives of the upper house of the American Congress are allowed to wear any clothes at their discretion. True, how reports NBC News, not all officials liked this decision, and they decided to take advantage of the new “freedom” to express their protest.
Thus, Republicans, on the contrary, ridiculed the relaxation in the dress code, saying that now American legislators will look more like vacationers than representatives of one of the branches of government. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito called the decision “terrible,” and 70-year-old Maine Senator Susan Margaret Collins joked that she plans to wear her favorite bikini to the next meeting.
“I think that there is a certain dignity in the Senate that we should maintain, and the refusal of a dress code, in my opinion, humiliates this institution of power,” Collins said.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, 68, who once coached football players at Auburn University, said he will definitely “remember the past and put on the coach’s tracksuit” at the next meeting. 43-year-old Missouri politician Josh Hawley came to work in jeans and cowboy boots. He was also supported by 66-year-old Alaska legislator Lisa Ann Mierkauski, who opted for what she called “travel attire” that included a zip-up sweater, black pants and sneakers.
The first meeting of the US Congress back in 1789 established the tradition of an official dress code for government employees, which was observed for more than two centuries. Men and women were required to wear formal business attire, and for men this meant a tie and jacket, even in the hottest weather.
However, in recent years, the meeting rooms of the US Senate have witnessed golf suits, sportswear, shoes without socks and even sparkling wigs. Massive disregard for the established rules forced Senate Speaker Chuck Schumer to take radical measures, giving senators complete freedom in their choice of clothing.
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