DeSantis rips Senate for ‘dumbing down’ dress code for Fetterman

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasted the Senate Monday over its dress code change, joining a chorus of Republicans criticizing the sartorial shift.

The ire has focused on Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who regularly shows up in the Capitol wearing basketball shorts and hoodies — also his preferred outfit on the campaign trail.

During a press conference Monday in Jacksonville, DeSantis, a former House member, said the Pennsylvania senator has “a lot of problems” before turning the focus to his wardrobe.

“So he would campaign in that, which is your prerogative, right? I mean, if that’s what you want to do, but to show up in the United States Senate with that, and not have the decency to put on proper attire. I think it’s disrespectful to the body,” he said.

“And I think the fact that the Senate changed the rules to accommodate that I think speaks very poorly to how they consider that,” DeSantis added. “Look, we need to be lifting up our standards in this country, not dumbing down our standards in this country. This is an example why.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Sunday that he was loosening the chamber’s dress code to allow senators to wear whatever they choose on the floor.

Fetterman responded to the Florida governor in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I dress like he campaigns,” Fetterman wrote.

The response is similar to the one he directed earlier at data analyst Nate Silver. 

Silver had joked he was creating “a new political party for people who don’t give a shit either about how John Fetterman dresses or what Lauren Boebert does in a theater.”

“I dress like you predict,” Fetterman said in a response to Silver. 

DeSantis has struggled to make up ground on former President Trump despite months of campaigning, staff turnover and strategy “resets.”

Polls last week showed Trump with a 47-50 point lead over DeSantis, his largest margin in high-quality national polls to date.