70-year-old Susan Collins plans to 'wear a bikini' as US Senate ditches formal dress code

US Senator Susan Collins revealed her sartorial plans on Monday after the Senate introduced a relaxed dress code. Poking fun at the new rule, Collins told reporters that she would show up in a bathing suit now that the code allows members to dress informally. 

“I plan to wear a bikini tomorrow to the Senate floor,” she quipped. Collin is one of several of her fellow conservatives who have sharply criticised the move for being inappropriate. “I think there is a certain dignity that we should be maintaining in the Senate, and to do away with the dress code, to me, debases the institution,” she said, according to NBC News.

What's the new Senate dress code? 

The clothing controversy comes after Sen. John Fetterman opted for shorts and an oversized hoodie to go about his duties and voted from doorways in order to avoid getting dress-coded. Shortly after this, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the changes in the Senate's dress code. 

“There has been an informal dress code that was enforced. Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit," he said in a statement, adding that outsiders, however, must abide by the business attire policy. This sparked backlash from conservatives who accused Schumer of siding with Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat. 

Meanwhile, Collins' remarks were echoed by Republicans including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who claimed that the Senate was “dumbing down” the dress code for the sake of Fetterman. “And I think the fact that the Senate changed the rules to accommodate that I think speaks very poorly to how they consider that. 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," he said, according to The Hill.