Democrats are proposing rolling back a nearly 200-year-old ban on headgear on the U.S. House of Representatives floor to accommodate one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
The change was proposed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., incoming Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
Relaxing the headwear ban would allow religious headwear to be worn, such as the Muslim hijab or the Jewish kippah, while the House is in session. It would also allow for someone with an illness that caused a loss of hair to wear a head covering, according to a Democratic aide.
Omar, who is Muslim and wears a headscarf, would be the first member of Congress to wear the religious garment on the House floor. She’s also one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress, which happened earlier this month.
“After voters elected the most diverse Congress in history, clarifying the antiquated rule banning headwear will further show the remarkable progress we have made as a nation,” Pelosi said in a statement. We are committed to ensuring that the People’s House truly reflects the beautiful diversity of the American people whom it is our great honor to serve.”
The rule banning hats of any variety has been in place since 1837.
In Congress’s earliest days, members regularly wore hats while the chamber was in session, keeping with tradition of the British Parliament.
Incoming Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., in 2010, cited the history as reason she should be allowed to wear her signature hats on the House floor. At the time, Wilson said she planned to consult then-Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was set to become House speaker, about whether he would give her a pass.
“It’s sexist,” Wilson told the Miami Herald. “It dates back to when men wore hats and we know that men don’t wear hats indoors, but women wear hats indoors. Hats are what I wear.”
A spokesman for Boehner said at the time that the rule “has never been interpreted to apply to religious headcoverings.”
The sergeant-at-arms, which enforces the rules, did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment about whether Omar would be allowed on the House floor wearing a headscarf without easing the hat ban.
President Trump’s daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump tweeted her support of the potential rule change Monday.
“Important rule change for Congress to make,” she wrote.
