House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sartorial choices have made headlines before.
There was the red Max Mara coat that thousands swooned over as she wore it leaving a famously contentious White House meeting in 2018, prompting the Italian fashion company to reissue the retired look. There was the white pantsuit worn during the president’s 2019 State of Union address, when the Democratic women of the 116th Congress resolved to wear white in honor of suffragists — an unspoken nod to justice in the face of power. And then there was the black skirt suit Pelosi wore on the day she presided over the House impeachment of President Trump in 2019 — a dark two-piece suit worn to express the somber tone of the day.
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And one year later, as she presided over a second impeachment of Trump, Pelosi made another statement when she donned the exact same outfit.
The House Speaker took to her recently returned lectern Wednesday — which was stolen by a mob of Trump supporters as they stormed the US Capitol in a deadly siege last week — after overseeing the House impeachment vote where lawmakers, for a second time, impeached President Trump. Pelosi wore a black dress with three-quarter sleeves and a blue and black floral mask. She paired the outfit with a gold necklace.
Pelosi’s campaign team confirmed in a statement to People Magazine that it was the same outfit she wore on Dec. 18, 2019, when the House passed two articles of impeachment against the president for abuse of power and obstruction of justice after he withheld military aid from Ukraine while pressuring the country’s president to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and Biden’s family.
On social media, many praised Pelosi’s symbolic sartorial choice, calling it a power move.
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“Did Pelosi wear the same outfit for both impeachments? HELL YES SHE DID,” one person tweeted.
Another said: “I love that Nancy Pelosi has an impeachment dress. It’s such a power move.”
I'm aware this could not be more beside the point but can we for one second recognize Nancy Pelosi's absolute brilliance when it comes to messaging through clothing? Like if I had to design an outfit in a movie for a Speaker to wear for Impeachment, this would be it. pic.twitter.com/aFwNckIeqe
— Julia (@JuliaHass) January 13, 2021
Pelosi wore black to 45's funeral today. Savage. 🔥
— Janie Haddad Tompkins 🇱🇧 (@janiehaddad) January 13, 2021
Pelosi wore the same outfit to both impeachments. QUEEN. pic.twitter.com/MQTVMdrpeO
— Issy (@issyelliot) January 14, 2021
Nancy Pelosi wearing the same outfit to impeach Trump a second time? Iconic. pic.twitter.com/SP4ixTTVXl
— Mark from MA (@RealHouseMark) January 13, 2021
She did it TWICE pic.twitter.com/K1EKh2Vlx8
— United for the People (@people4kam) January 13, 2021
Nancy Pelosi wearing the exact same outfit for the impeachment trial today that she did for his last impeachment is too good 😂😂
— K (@Kaylaabranham) January 13, 2021
Missing from the 2019 outfit was a brooch in the shape of a ceremonial mace, meant as a symbol of legislative power. A mace is typically “placed atop a pedestal to the Speaker’s right side” during House sessions, according to the New York Times.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, the speaker said in a speech to Congress that the president “must go” for his role in encouraging the insurrection, calling him a “clear and present danger to the nation.”
With the second impeachment, Trump has become the first president in the nation’s history to be impeached twice.
Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @brittbowker and on Instagram @brittbowker.
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