


Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joked on Monday that she planned “to wear a bikini” on the Senate floor after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) abolished the business dress code for members.
Schumer directed the chamber’s sergeant at arms on Friday to abolish the centuries-old rule requiring senators to wear a suit and tie on the Senate floor. The dress code, which has been described by aides as becoming “informal” over the last 20 years, will still apply to staffers and visitors.
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“I plan to wear a bikini tomorrow to the Senate floor and [Sen.] Chris Coons [D-DE] is gonna wear shorts because there's no dress code anymore,” Collins jokingly told reporters on Monday.
Asked why the change bothered her, Collins replied, “Because I think there is a certain dignity that we should be maintaining in the Senate, and to do away with the dress code, to me, debases the institution.”
“Now, obviously, I'm not gonna wear a bikini,” she added. “But of all the issues that we have to deal with right now, ranging from the possibility of the government shutting down to what we do about Ukraine, we're talking about the Senate dress code? That's extraordinary to me.”
Collins was far from the only GOP senator to take issue with the change.
“I don't tend to change anything. I expect to do the Senate the same way it's been done for 20, 40 years with the dress code,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who turned 90 on Sunday, said. “What has been suggested stinks. It is unprecedented, and if you can't count on the majority leader of the United States Senate to uphold the decorum of the United States Senate, who can you count on?”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said in an interview on Monday morning that there were “a lot of strong opinions [on the matter], but I'm going to refrain from expressing them publicly. I will say, behind closed doors, lots of people have a pretty energized opinion on this topic.”
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Cruz, Grassley, and others have been spotted around the Capitol in casual wear before, though this mostly occurs when a member is returning from the Senate gym or heading to the airport. Members voting in casual clothing will typically keep one foot in the cloakroom to avoid being on the Senate floor while underdressed.
Schumer’s rule change will mostly apply to freshman Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who stopped adhering to the chamber’s dress code after his six-week hospitalization for clinical depression.