In an increasingly divided political landscape, America’s elected officials cannot seem to agree on much of anything. 

Whether it is healthcare, the border or gun control, the party lines are more divided than ever and leave little hope for bipartisan solutions. 

All of that changed this past week as the United States Senate came together and unanimously voted to pass a bill that will change American politics for the better. 

In a landmark ruling that will benefit millions of Americans, the Senate codified The SHORTS ACT (SHow Our Respect To the Senate) which requires business attire, specifying “a coat, tie, and slacks or other long pants” for men. The bill does not mention any changes to the dress code for women. 

Now that male senators can no longer wear shorts to work, the potential of our nation is truly limitless. 

This all started on Sept. 17, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer instructed the Sergeant of Arms to no longer enforce the informal dress code for senators. This came as a surprise to many who learned that there was never an official dress code in place. 

Business attire was the widely held standard for those in public service. Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman bucked this trend by wearing hoodies and shorts to work most days. 

Fetterman became well known for his casual attire when he was the Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania. Strangely, the state did not fall into disarray or collapse entirely as a result of his clothing choices.

Once Fetterman returned to work after a hospitalization earlier this year, he began to regularly wear hoodies, shorts and sneakers to work. While he never wore them on the chamber floor, the outrage was persistent nonetheless from his colleagues. 

Once Schumer ditched the enforcement of the dress code, 46 Republican senators sent a letter to Schumer demanding he reverse the change, writing, “The world watches us on that floor and we must protect the sanctity of that place at all costs.”

Days later, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Utah Republican Mitt Romney introduced a bipartisan bill that would formally instate a dress code for the Senate floor.

If my satirical hyperbolic statements have not made it clear thus far, I am not the biggest fan of this bill. 

The idea that a man wearing shorts to work is what finally unites both sides of the aisle is something out of a sitcom’s writers room. 

The idea that the tradition of business attire in the Senate is such a massive ordeal that it requires immediate legislative action in a country with as many issues as America is laughable. 

This vote was held just two days before the looming deadline of a government shutdown that was narrowly avoided in the eleventh hour. 

Again, Fetterman never wore this casual attire on the Senate floor before the dress code was dropped and just a few days of this was enough to bring the opposite sides of the political spectrum to common ground. 

Senators being so opposed to Fetterman dressing like a regular person highlights a deeper problem with politics in America: politicians are believed to be above their constituents. 

We wear hoodies and shorts, they wear suits and ties. They decide what is best for us because they are held in higher regard than us.

The idea that one of their own represents the people they look down upon from Capitol Hill was too much to bear and needed to be fixed immediately. 

Why should it matter what our elected officials wear if they are competent enough to do their duties? Do the clothes you wear make such a difference in your perception that your colleagues are unable to work alongside you? 

Apparently so, as the swift unanimous bill was passed without any pushback from Fetterman, who knew it was not a hill to die on. 

Being able to dress freely would further humanize our elected officials who suffer from public mistrust in their true motivations. If we could see them express themselves through their clothing, we can see them in a new light; as fellow Americans, not the nameless suits who vote on our behalf. 

But of course that’s just one man’s opinion. 

Categories: Opinion