Pennsylvania State Representative Eric Davanzo, a Republican from Westmoreland County, got himself tossed from the House floor for the unforgivable crime of dressing like a walking American flag right before the Fourth of July. As Trending Politics reported, Davanzo showed up to the chamber wearing a suit jacket with red and white stripes paired with a blue tie covered in white stars, apparently to celebrate America's upcoming 250th birthday. The Speaker's office decided this was a "costume" and not professional attire, which is a bold stance to take about a jacket that literally represents the country whose laws you are writing.
House security approached Davanzo on behalf of Speaker Joanna McClinton, a Democrat from Philadelphia whose party holds a slim majority in the chamber. He was given two options: ditch the jacket or hit the road. Davanzo chose the road, which honestly was probably worth it for the Facebook content alone.
"KICKED OFF THE FLOOR FOR WEARING A PATRIOTIC JACKET? That's right, it happened," Davanzo posted afterward. "I will never apologize for putting patriotism before politics. We love our country. We love America, so I'm happy to put this on. I'm proud to wear this," he added in a video statement.
According to WTAE, Nicole Reigelman, a spokesperson for Speaker McClinton, claimed the jacket did not meet standards for professional attire and distinguished it from other themed clothing. The chamber's dress code rules are apparently not spelled out in extensive detail, which means enforcement basically comes down to vibes and whoever happens to be in charge that day.
This is where things get spicy. Davanzo and fellow Republicans pointed out that during June, which is Pride Month, Democrat members and staff wore Pride-themed shirts, hats, and tennis shoes without anyone getting the boot. "They were wearing pride stuff all month. They wore pride-themed shirts, hats and tennis shoes and were never told to remove them," Davanzo said. The Speaker's office responded that Pride-colored items qualified as professional attire rather than costumes, a distinction that probably makes more sense in their heads than it does on paper.
Fox News reported that some Democrat lawmakers privately disagreed with the removal, which is the political equivalent of texting "that's messed up" while doing absolutely nothing about it.
Republican Representative Charity Grimm Krupa summed it up nicely, writing that while dress codes and costume prohibitions are understandable, "our House rules do NOT make the Speaker the fashion police."
The whole thing happened during a session that was supposed to be about the state budget, which had already blown past its constitutional deadline without being resolved. So to recap: the budget is late, the country is turning 250, and the thing Pennsylvania lawmakers chose to spend their energy on was whether a flag jacket counts as business casual. Happy birthday, America.
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