Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is not aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to relax the upper chamber’s dress code, saying he thinks the Senate needs to “act on this.”
Durbin, the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the Senate, made the comments in a SiriusXM interview that will air Friday.
At issue is a decision made by Schumer, D-N.Y., earlier this week to ban the Senate dress code in an attempt to insulate hoodie-wearing Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., from criticism.
"I can't understand exactly what [Schumer] was thinking at that point," Durbin told SiriusXM host Steve Scully. "I want to give him the benefit of the doubt until I speak to him, but I think the Senate needs to act on this."
Calling Fetterman “a personal friend,” Durbin still said the lack of decorum is a bridge too far and that he’s “concerned about it.”
"I think we need to have standards when it comes to what we're wearing on the floor of the Senate. And we're in the process of discussing that right now as to what those standards will be," Durbin told SiriusXM.
Durbin is not alone among Democrats.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said he doesn’t like it, adding, “I think it would’ve been better if we had a discussion about it ahead of time.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it “degrades” the chamber.
Fetterman denies he was the driving force behind the change, though he celebrated it just the same. His campaign opted to sell a T-shirt that said “John Fetterman’s Body Double.”
"I'm Senator Guy Incognito," Fetterman joked Tuesday, referring to the "Simpsons" character and doppelgänger to the show’s main character.
Schumer may have thought the dress code downgrade would mitigate the vitriol aimed at Fetterman, but instead put the target on himself. If so, mission accomplished.
A group of 46 Republican senators signed a letter to Schumer earlier this week demanding he reverse his decision.
"This is just a small part of the decline of a new America. Democrats do not like the country the way it is. Never have," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Newsmax earlier this week. "I don't think it's as much for John Fetterman as it is that Chuck Schumer just wants to show his power. This is so pathetic.
"And this just shows you that globalist Democrats dislike this country so much, that they'll even change the smallest details of discipline and leadership. This is your new America, keep voting for these people, and this is exactly what you're gonna get," he said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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