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#MeToo Dress Code Is Moving to Capitol Hill

Rep. Jackie Speier, other Dems encouraging black attire for President Trump's State of the Union
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 10, 2018 11:25 AM CST
#MeToo Dress Code Is Moving to Capitol Hill
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., heads to a closed-door session with the president's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 6, 2017.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The red carpet turned dark at the Golden Globes on Sunday, where the majority of celebrities dressed in all black to recognize the sexual misconduct issue in Hollywood marked by the "#MeToo" and "Time's Up" movements. Now it's Congress' turn, with an invite from the House Democratic Women's Working Group for attendees at President Trump's Jan. 30 State of the Union address to don black attire to address the same issue, NBC News reports. "This is a culture change that is sweeping the country, and Congress is embracing it," California Rep. Jackie Speier, who has shared her own tale of sexual assault on Capitol Hill, tells CNN. Speier says she and others in the WWG are working to spread the word about the all-black dress code to both Democrats and Republicans who will attend the president's speech.

Female lawmakers have come out in recent days to speak about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault at the hands of their male colleagues, and HuffPost notes that Speier and others have been working behind the scenes for some time to increase awareness and push legislation that would help prevent such abuse. CNN notes it's not the first time Democratic women on Capitol Hill have coordinated their outfits for a cause, with dozens dressing in all white to stand for women's rights at Trump's first joint address to Congress last February. Some eyes on Jan. 30 will likely be peeled to see what color Ivanka Trump will sport if she's in attendance at the address. The day after the Globes, the first daughter tweeted about Oprah's "inspiring speech" and used the #TimesUp hashtag—which earned her widespread criticism, considering her father has multiple accusers of his own. (More MeToo stories.)

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