In a day overtaken by partisan politics and breaking news, the Senate upheld a tradition on Thursday that brings both Republicans and Democrats together: National Seersucker Day.
As members engaged in screaming matches on the House floor, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was shoved out of a Department of Homeland Security press conference, and the House Oversight Committee had a fiery hearing, there was one event on Capitol Hill that brought together members of both parties.
“I’ve often said that if you break bread with someone, you’re far less likely to demonize them,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told the Washington Examiner. “Similarly, events like Seersucker Day help remind us of what we have in common.”
“I’ve loved the sense of tradition and the fact that it brings together senators from both parties, different sections of the country and it’s just fun,” Collins added.
Senators celebrated the 12th annual bipartisan Seersucker Day this week. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) was named the Democratic co-chair last year alongside Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). He took over for Sen. Dianne Feinstein after her death.
“If you have a shared activity, then you are the kind of goodwill that spills over into more shared activity,” Cassidy told the Washington Examiner as he expressed interest in different areas he’d like to work with Warnock on.
Senators adopted the seersucker trend after a New Orleans clothier designed a lightweight suit in pale blue and white striped rumpled cotton fabric in the early 1900s. The custom fell off until the late 1990s, when former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) revitalized the Senate tradition.
“I like to say it makes you look cool in two different ways, in temperature and fashion,” Cassidy told the Washington Examiner.
According to the Senate historian’s office, Lott “selected a ‘nice and warm’ day in the second or third week of June to be designated Seersucker Thursday.” Both members and staffers take part in this tradition, meant to bring people together.
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The Mississippi Republican’s goal was to portray that “the Senate isn’t just a bunch of dour folks wearing dark suits and—in the case of men—red or blue ties.”
“I love Seersucker Day because it’s one of the few times that politics and style come together,” one Senate staffer told the Washington Examiner. “It just proves that people get along better when wearing stripes.”