Fact Check: Is the Rand Paul bathrobe picture real? Viral tweet sparks hilarious reactions online

The junior US Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul went viral after an X user Jeff Charles posted a picture of him in a red bathroom sitting barefoot on the Capitol stairs. The post was used as a medium to mock the Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer's decision to relax the Senate dress code.

Fox News reported that Schumer wanted to accommodate Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman's refusal to wear a suit. It is worth noting that Fetterman usually wears a hoodie or a loose-fitting shirt and gym shorts at the Capitol.

While Rand Paul's picture is AI-generated, netizens, especially Republicans are using it to express their opinions on the decision to relax the Senate dress code. Many of them weren't particularly happy with the loose informal dress code policy.

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Rand Paul's bathrobe picture goes viral in the midst of dress code discourse

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Monday, September 18, 2023, that the staff for the chamber's Sergeant-at-Arms will no longer enforce a dress code on the Senate floor. The Sergeant-at-Arms are the Senate's official attire authorities.

According to AP News, he said that while Senators will be able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor, he would continue wearing a suit.

Bipartisan displeasure arose as Democratic and Republican citizens gave their opinions about Schumer's decision. First-time Senate, John Fetterman was at the center of the discourse as he has often been seen walking around the Capitol in gym shorts and hoodies/loose-fitting shirts.

However, he earned bipartisan praise for being open about his clinical depression diagnosis earlier this year. The diagnosis came in the wake of a stroke he suffered on the campaign trail in 2022.

Following the decision being announced to the public, netizens took to social media to make memes about senators wearing casual clothes in and around the Capitol. One such image was that of Rand Paul in a red bathrobe sitting barefoot.

As mentioned earlier, the pictures of Rand Paul are all generated through Artificial Intelligence by an X user to ridicule Schumer's dress code decision. When people saw the picture, they started making hilarious comments about the same. While some sarcastically said that they loved the new dress code, others said that Rand Paul looked "Romanesque" in the bathrobe, sitting on the stairs.

Some members believed that wearing formal attire was a way to show respect for the Senate as an institution. Meanwhile, others insisted there were more important matters to talk about and vote on the Senate floor than clothes.

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Senators' thoughts on the relaxation of the dress code

Senators have wavering opinions on the leniency of the dress code.

Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said it's "a sad day in the Senate." As he spoke about the decorum and need for a dress code in the Senate, he told the reporters:

"I represent the people of Kansas, and much like when I get dressed up to go to a wedding, it’s to honor the bride and groom, you go to a funeral you get dressed up to honor the family of the deceased."

Some Senators did not mind the liberty to change attire. This included Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy who was wearing no tie. He said that he was reprimanded for not wearing a tie on the Senate floor by Sergeant-at-Arms staff. He said that they would tell the Senators when they "were doing it wrong."

John Fetterman also talked about the new rule saying he would not use it "sparingly" as per AP News. He added his thoughts about his critics saying that he didn't understand why they were freaking out.

"Like, aren’t there more important things we should be working on right now instead of, you know, that I might be dressing like a slob?” Fetterman stated.

According to Fox News, Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin is in the process of getting the original formal dress code back in place. Joe's office said the Senate would introduce the resolution in the coming week "to ensure the Senate dress code remains consistent with previous expectations."

He is currently passing around a proposal to bring back the formal attire. Rand Paul has not reacted to his viral meme yet.