Tennessee U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined 44 Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) regarding his recent change to Senate rules, including loosening the dress code to no longer require business attire for members on the Senate floor.
The Republican senators sent the letter to Schumer one day after he announced staff for the chamber’s Sergeant-at-Arms will no longer enforce a dress code on the Senate floor, according to a report by the Associated Press.
“There has been an informal dress code that was enforced,” Schumer said in a statement, according to the outlet. “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor.”
Tennesseans are expected to dress for work & put on work uniforms every day. I am honored to work for Tennesseans in the Senate and treat this role with the respect it deserves.
This is another step in the wrong direction by Democrats. https://t.co/4flHGU0LTy
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) September 20, 2023
The letter, sent Tuesday, said, “For more than 230 years, the United States Senate has served the American people with honor and dignity. As members of this esteemed body, we understand the seriousness our positions require.”
The group of Republican senators noted, “The Senate is a place of honor and tradition, and the Senate floor is where we conduct the business of the American people.”
“It is where we debate the policies which impact every American family and, when necessary, it is where we must make the gravest decision imaginable – whether to send our fellow Americans into battle to defend the freedoms we all hold dear. The world watches us on that floor and we must protect the sanctity of that place at all costs,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Allowing casual clothing on the Senate floor disrespects the institution we serve and the American families we represent. We the undersigned members of the United States Senate write to express our supreme disappointment and resolute disapproval of your recent decision to abandon the Senate’s longstanding dress code for members, and urge you to immediately reverse this misguided action,” the senators said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn. Photo “Bill Hagerty” by Bill Hagerty.
