The U.S. Senate achieved a rare bipartisan milestone Wednesday when it passed the “SHow Our Respect To the Senate” (SHORTS) act, restoring the dress code and forcing Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to wear pants on the floor.
As Breitbart News reported earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) allowed the dress code to lapse in deference to Fetterman, who has adopted hoodies and shorts as part of a “working-class” persona.
The policy came under withering criticism from left and right. Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan wrote:
[Schumer’s] decision is apparently connected to the desires of Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who enjoys parading around in gym shorts and a hoodie. Why would his desires receive such precedence?
Because he has political needs. He must double down on his brand. He imagines that dressing like a slob deepens his perceived identification with the working class. But this kind of thing doesn’t make you “authentic”; it just makes you a different kind of phony. Mr. Fetterman, born into affluence and privilege, reacted to criticism of Mr. Schumer’s decision with an air of snotty entitlement. He mocked critics, making woo-woo monster sounds to reporters and telling a House critic to “get your s— together.” He said Republicans were “losing their minds” and ought to have better things to do.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) objected, however, and joined Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in proposing a resolution to put pants on the Pennsylvania Senator.
Got ahold of Manchin’s dress code resolution. It’s called “SHow Our Respect To the Senate Resolution’’ or the ‘‘SHORTS Resolution.”
— Burgess Everett (asapburgessev on 🧵) (@burgessev) September 26, 2023
It only pertains to men, and says they must wear a “coat, tie, and slacks or other long pants” https://t.co/w2iE2ioEf5
The resolution passed by unanimous consent, meaning no Senator objected vocally to the proposal.
Fetterman responded by mocking the Senate, posting a meme with a photo of Kevin James:
https://t.co/YhYZJfXsHM pic.twitter.com/sV9NiaAswJ
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 27, 2023
James played Doug Hefferman, a fictional working-class hero on the TV series King of Queens who wore shorts as a delivery driver.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
