Kristi Noem And 5 Other Politicians Trying To Make Cowboy Boots Business Casual

In 2023, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed that the unofficial dress code of the Senate didn't need to be enforced any longer. Republicans criticized the move, writing a letter to Schumer to say that the sanctity of their position needed to be upheld. "The Senate is a place of honor and tradition, and the Senate floor is where we conduct the business of the American people," the Senators argued (via CNN).

Clearly, the opinion that politicians need to uphold a traditional aesthetic doesn't extend to all of them. Kristi Noem is just one of the women in D.C. trying to make cowboy boots business casual. Whereas the footwear used to be reserved for the farm, nowadays these women seem to want to wear their boots in the hallowed halls of the Capitol and the White House, or while campaigning to get there. We're all for a bit of westernwear; in fact we think that the country-western aesthetic is the fashion gift that keeps on giving. But are cowboy boots business-casual appropriate? These six politicians seem to think so.

We're well aware of Kristi Noem's cowboy hat obsession, but does her flare for western clothing also extend to a love of boots? Absolutely. The secretary of homeland security and former governor of South Dakota frequently flounces around in her cowboy boots. She notably did this in April 2024, pairing them with a denim shirtdress. Cowboy boots don't have to be a strictly Republican accessory, by the way. For years, they've been a symbol that a politician isn't a city-dwelling, "politics as usual" type, but rather one of the people.

If there's one politician who loves to wear cowboy boots as part of her work uniform, it's Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert. In June 2025, the outspoken Republican visited a hospital in her district wearing a tight-fitting pale-blue sheath dress paired with decorative brown cowboy boots. Some of her followers loved the boots-at-work look, while some have requested she hire a stylist. Yet another Instagram commenter suggested she try "Some dress shoes and [a] looser dress."

We've seen when South Carolina politician Nancy Mace's cowboy boots take her outfits in completely unexpected directions before. The dress-and-boot combo specifically is something she's sampled in the past, including with a fitted pink dress. To the Capitol in December 2024, she paired the dress with suede-looking slouchy cowboy boots. The public is not sure her devotion to the combination should be this fierce: "Boots gotta go," wrote one Facebook follower.

The women of the Republican party must share shopping tips. Sarah Palin appeared on CNN to discuss politics back in December 2015, wearing what looked to be the same gaudy cowboy boots we wish Lauren Boebert would stop wearing. The former VP candidate and governor of Alaska has frequently leaned into cowboy boots, even in 2025 at the age of 61, challenging the notion that cowboycore is a trend for younger generations. 

Trouser jeans and a button-up top: It's a classic business-casual combination that worked for Nikki Haley in April 2023 as she toured the Texas border. The outfit would work in most workplaces these days, but also served the former presidential hopeful when she did some on-the-ground campaigning. In this case, the cowboy boots were practical and not dramatically screaming, "Look at my cowboy boots!" Unfortunately, that's often the case with some of Haley's fellow party members.

Oh dear. Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't do herself any favors by pairing a frill-detailed, short dress with a pair of camel boots for a press conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, in December 2022. And social media didn't relent. "Clothing a governor should never wear, check!" was one of the tamer comments appearing on Huckabee Sanders' Instagram. "What is even happening here? Surely with all that [money] you can hire a stylist to help you look like a 'big girl,'" another wrote. "Unless, you had a prior engagement at a hoedown with no time to change, I do apologize." Yee-naw, let's not see this business-casual look repeated ever again.

Another day, another opportunity for Kristi Noem to wear cowboy boots; she's worn this look too many times for us to not include her twice. This time, the former South Dakota governor wore a beautiful emerald-green sweater paired with bootcut jeans and cowboy boots for her pheasant hunt, held in October 2024. She strode across the stage in her brown boots with her granddaughter in tow. As we haven't attended a governor's pheasant hunt, we cannot comment on what one typically wears to such an event, but at least these boots were inconspicuous with her casual 'fit.

Lauren Boebert's Americana boots are one more tool in her style arsenal for trying to look the part of hardcore patriot. In fact, we think they must sit prominently at the front of her closet because she wears them so often. When she was campaigning in July 2024, she paired her flag-inspired boots with an imitation-lace white dress and a suede cowboy hat, but we fully expect to see these Americana-style shoes make many more appearances on Boebert.