Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joked Monday that she would “wear a bikini” on the floor of the Senate following Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., directive that the body would no longer enforce a dress code for its members.
Her comments were first reported by an NBC News reporter, but were confirmed by Fox News Digital. Collins made the comments while slamming the dress code directive, arguing it “debases the institution,” which still requires others entering the chamber to comply with the dress code, including coats and ties for men, and business attire for women.
“Obviously, I’m not going to wear a bikini,” Collins said. “But the fact is, as I understand it, I could!”
From right, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., conduct the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the “Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024,” and the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024,” in Dirksen Building on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital confirmed the dress code changes on Sunday after Schumer secretly sent the directive to the Senate’s sergeant at arms.
The change will allow Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to continue wearing his trademark hoodies and gym shorts he is often seen wearing around Capitol Hill after returning from a six-week hospitalization for depression earlier this year.
He had previously found a workaround to the legislative body’s dress code rules by voting from the doorway of the Democrat cloakroom or the side entrance, making sure his vote is recorded before ducking out.
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Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) arrives for the “AI Insight Forum” at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Fetterman was blasted by conservatives following the change, with some suggesting the move was made to appease him.
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Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.