Sen. Tom Cotton was spotted earlier today drinking two glasses of milk with some chocolate he was sneaking from under his desk.
Surprisingly, milk and water are the only beverages allowed on the Senate floor during the impeachment trial.
So why milk, and not coffee? The reason is simple: It was designed to help senators with ulcers.
According to Alan Frumin, the former Senate Parliamentarian and CNN contributor, a precedent from Jan. 24, 1966, stated, “Senate rules do not prohibit a Senator from sipping milk during his speech.”
Frumin said this is a “precedent” and not a formal “rule” of the Senate.
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is a physician, said the practice was started to aid senators suffering from peptic ulcer disease because “way back when, in the ‘50’s” there was no treatment for the condition other than drinking milk.
“There was no medicine for peptic ulcer disease so people would drink milk and so the senators were allowed to drink milk because they had ulcers,” he said.
Cassidy said all senators know they can’t bring outside drinks on the floor. But once there, sparkling water is also served in addition to water and milk.
He said snacks and coffee are available in the cloakroom but the coffee is “as a rule awful.”
“It’s miserable coffee. You would wish it on a Democrat but no one else,” he said. “Just joking.”