Trump threw America the biggest birthday party in 250 years.
Pennsylvania Democrats had different ideas about what belonged on their House floor.
What Democrats encouraged their own members to wear on that same floor one month before explains everything.
Joanna McClinton Calls Eric Davanzo's American Flag Jacket a Costume
On June 30, four days before the nation's 250th birthday, Rep. Eric Davanzo walked onto the Pennsylvania House floor in a red, white, and blue American flag-themed jacket paired with a star-spangled blue tie.
He was not there to make a scene.
What happened next was the scene.
Speaker Joanna McClinton – a Philadelphia Democrat – dispatched a security guard to the floor with a message: remove the jacket or leave.
Davanzo kept the jacket.
"Instead of taking my jacket off, I walked off the House Floor," he said.
McClinton's office called the jacket a "costume" and said it violated chamber dress expectations.
Davanzo would not accept the characterization.
"This isn't a costume," he told reporters. "This is something that I truly believe in. I'm a patriot."
McClinton doubled down.
"We don't allow costumes on the floor of the House for any holiday," she said. "We are very patriotic. That's why we have two huge United States of America flags in the back of the House."
Davanzo had something to say about that claim – and so did her own email.
The Pride Month Email Pennsylvania Democrats Sent the Month Before
McClinton did not mention what was sitting in Democrat inboxes when she pointed to those decorative flags as proof of her patriotism.
One month earlier, Davanzo said, her office sent an email to Democrat House members encouraging them to wear rainbow colors for a coordinated photo shoot on the same House floor.
They wore rainbow-colored shirts, hats, and tennis shoes.
Not one of them was asked to leave.
Davanzo read McClinton's own Pride Month statement aloud – the one about encouraging members to be "authentic" and "love freely."
"You're only able to love freely because the brave men and women died for this flag," he said. "They died for our country. This is complete hypocrisy."
He went further.
"You're allowed to wear tennis shoes on the floor. You're allowed to wear top hats. You can wear camo-jackets. Everything across the board – but don't show up with a patriotic outfit on because you're going to be asked to leave."
The Pennsylvania House does not have a written dress code.
There is no rule defining what makes something a "costume."
Enforcement of decorum falls entirely to the presiding officer – which in a Democrat-controlled chamber means McClinton alone decides what qualifies as professional and what gets you removed.
Rainbow colors: professional.
American flag: costume.
That is the standard Joanna McClinton chose to set four days before the Fourth of July.
Even Democrats Backed Eric Davanzo Over the Fourth of July Ejection
McClinton's problem got worse the moment Davanzo stepped into the hallway.
Democrat colleagues told him privately they disagreed with the removal.
One Philadelphia Democrat – Rep. Jordan Davis of Gray's Ferry – had already remarked about the jacket from the floor.
"A very colorful jacket the representative is wearing today," Davis said. "Very patriotic, I see, my friend."
Republican colleagues were less diplomatic.
Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa said that "our House rules do NOT make the Speaker the fashion police."
Davanzo refused to let McClinton reframe the story.
He reminded every reporter who asked that top hats, tennis shoes, and camouflage jackets have all appeared on the Pennsylvania House floor without incident.
The only thing that earned a security escort was red, white, and blue.
Veterans contacted Davanzo after the incident went national.
They were not happy.
"I will never apologize for putting patriotism before politics," Davanzo said.
What Joanna McClinton Just Told Pennsylvania Voters About America 250
Joanna McClinton handed Republicans a weapon they will use through November.
A party that coordinates rainbow photo shoots on the House floor and then labels an American flag jacket "inappropriate" is not protecting decorum.
It is using the Speaker's gavel to decide which colors belong inside a government building and which ones get a security escort.
The Pennsylvania House has no written dress code giving her that authority.
She exercised it anyway – one month after orchestrating a floor photo where the colors of a different flag were welcome.
While the Trump administration was staging the Great American State Fair and the country was preparing for its 250th birthday, Joanna McClinton decided the star-spangled banner needed to stay outside the door.
They will be waiting a long time for that argument to land.
Sources:
- Hannah Brennan, "See It: Pennsylvania Democrats Boot GOP Lawmaker from House Floor over Patriotic America 250 Suit," Fox News, July 2, 2026.
- "Pennsylvania Democrats Eject GOP Lawmaker over Patriotic Flag Suit," Washington Times, July 2, 2026.
- Katherine Mosack, "Penn.: GOP State Lawmaker Ordered to Leave House Floor over Patriotic Suit Jacket and Tie," One America News Network, July 2, 2026.
- "Pennsylvania Lawmaker Says He Was Kicked Off House Floor for 'Patriotic' American Flag Jacket," CBS Pittsburgh, July 1, 2026.
