Manchin has been at odds with the Democrat Party for well over a year. Now it’s come to a breaking point.
And Joe Manchin released a statement that has Democrats losing their minds.
There is not disagreement allowed when you are part of the Democrat Party.
You either follow the party line, or you are shunned for your supposed betrayal.
Joe Manchin is sick of that, and he’s finally starting to stand up for himself.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is assembling a Senate coalition to reverse the contentious decision to suspend enforcement of the chamber’s dress code, dubbed “The Fetterman Rule” in honor of one member who prefers casual wear.
“Next week, Senator Manchin intends to file a bipartisan resolution to ensure the Senate the dress code remains consistent with previous expectations,” a Manchin spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.
The statement went viral after The Hill discovered that Manchin was circulating a plan to reverse Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) directive to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms to stop enforcing the informal norms requiring members to wear work dress on the Senate floor.
According to the report, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) claimed lawmakers who reject the new dress code guidelines are part of a “coalition of the rational.”
Forty-six Republican senators, led by Florida’s Rick Scott, have already signed a letter asking that Schumer rethink his “misguided” decision.
Relaxing enforcement of the clothing code, which appears to be more of a habit than a codified guideline, has provoked both laughs and criticism from senators on both sides of the aisle.
The measure, which affects senators but not staff workers, was also slammed by the Washington Post editorial board.
Much of the outrage has been aimed at Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a freshman member known for frequently wearing hoodies and gym shorts, prompting the amendment to be dubbed “The Fetterman Rule.”
The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Fetterman, after receiving treatment for depression, circumvented Senate floor dress code requirements by voting from the doorway of the Democratic cloakroom or a side entrance.
On Wednesday, Fetterman presided over the Senate in a short-sleeved shirt and no tie. He donned the same casual outfit to a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
Sen. Fetterman presides over U.S. Senate for first time since Sen. Schumer said Senate will no longer enforce its dress code for members pic.twitter.com/2epbmOoxmW
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 20, 2023
Manchin told reporters this week that he spoke with Fetterman and told him that the dress code decision was “wrong” and that he would “try to hold the decorum of the Senate.”
Fetterman relayed to POLITICO that Manchin “just wanted to acknowledge that it wasn’t like a personal issue or anything like that. And of course, I said, ‘Absolutely. I get it.’”
The Hill reported earlier on Thursday that Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, was “concerned” about the dress code change and stated that “we need to have standards when it comes to what we’re wearing on the floor of the Senate.”
Some have pointed out that a previous relaxation of the dress code in 2019 permitted women to wear sleeveless dresses, allowing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) to wear colorful clothes and even a denim vest when presiding over the Senate.
Fetterman has used social media to promote sweatshirts and other items mocking his detractors. On Wednesday, he issued a statement outlining what it would take for him to dress up.
“If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week,” Fetterman said in a post to X.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
