Bob CollinsA do-nothing Congress? Ha! Yesterday it kept a woman from exposing her arms on the House floor, Roll Call reports.
Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota’s 6th District, was due to preside over the House yesterday afternoon when someone sprang into action upon seeing her upper arms.
Unfortunately for the Minnesota Republican, the dress code governing the House chamber was written before the time when Michelle Obama was first lady. Bare shoulders are not allowed on the House floor.
According to a source who saw the hubbub, floor staffers huddled for a moment before approaching Bachmann and telling her she could not preside until she covered up.
“I was just told that I needed to have a jacket and it was no problem,” Bachmann told HOH on Wednesday afternoon. “I called the staff and said ‘grab one’ — I keep an extra one in my office — and they ran it over lickety-split.”
Bachmann said she agreed with the dress code, which is stricter for members when they are presiding over the House chamber than it is for when they’re on the floor. “And it isn’t different for women than it is for men, which I absolutely agree with,” she said.
