As U.S. Senate relaxes dress code, Chuck Grassley says don't 'dress like a clown'

As the U.S. Senate relaxes its longtime formal dress code, Sen. Chuck Grassley said senators should proudly represent their constituents "and not dress like a clown."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat representing New York, said Monday that the chamber's sergeant-at-arms will no longer be tasked with enforcing a dress code on the Senate floor.

The Senate's dress code change comes to mostly accommodate Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who unapologetically wears his trademark hoodies and shorts as he goes about his duties.

"I think it's going to devalue the Senate as an institution," Grassley said Wednesday of the rule change. "And it's going to lead to further things that detract from the decorum of the United States Senate."

Grassley joined 45 Republican colleagues in a letter to Schumer decrying the rules change and urging him to "immediately reverse this misguided action." Grassley said Schumer lifted the dress code without consulting with the Senate Rules Committee.

“This rule change stinks, and it’s unprecedented," Grassley said in a statement. "I’ll be wearing a suit and necktie on the Senate floor as I’ve always done and has been expected of senators for nearly 240 years."

CNN has reported that no standing Senate rule establishes a formal dress code. The Senate, instead, has told members to wear business attire, including a coat and tie for men and dresses or pantsuits for women.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Chuck Grassley says ending US Senate dress code 'stinks'