Trump ally's support for raising the federal minimum wage could set up a wild showdown with the administration

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Top Republican threw his support behind raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2026 - and it could spark a showdown with President Trump.
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and has not been raised since 2009.
Hawley's proposal, called the 'Higher Wages for American Workers Act' is also cosponsored by Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt).
'For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline,' Hawley (R-Mo.) told CBS News.
'One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hard-working Americans every day. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages,'the Missouri senator added.
Trump has teased lukewarm ideas about potentially raising the federal minimum wage, acknowledging it's 'pretty low' currently.
But he's generally favored a state-led approach to the issue rather than stepping in on a federal level.
On the campaign trail last year, Trump championed proposals such as eliminating taxes on tips, as well as on overtime wages.
Those campaign promises are presently one step closer to becoming policy realities, as they are provisions included in the budget reconciliation package which passed the U.S. House of Representatives before Memorial Day.
It's unclear if Hawley has discussed his legislation with the White House and whether Trump is supportive. The Daily Mail has reached out to his team for comment.
Ten states, as well as Washington, D.C., have a minimum wage of over $15.
Democrat-led California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington also have the high pay level.
Twenty states set their minimum wage at the $7.25 level, 19 of which supported President Donald Trump's reelection last year.
In Hawley's home state of Missouri, voters passed a measure last November to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2026.
It included provision passed by voters that would also institute annual raises to keep minimum wage increases on pace with inflation was later struck down by the Missouri legislature this spring.
Hawley's proposal is not the only one in the Senate aimed at raising the federal minimum wage.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation in April to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030.
At the time, Sanders argued that 'the $7.25 an hour minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be raised to a living wage – at least $17 an hour.'
'In the year 2025, a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, we can no longer tolerate millions of workers trying to survive on just $10 or $12 an hour. Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the working class of this country. The time to act is now,' Sanders noted in an April press release.
Republicans including President Trump are pushing to increase the dollars Americans bring home in their pockets via other methods.
Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked about raising the federal minimum wage at his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this year.
At the time, Bessent said that he believes 'that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue' when answering a question posed by Senator Sanders.
The libertarian Cato Institute, a D.C. think tank noted in a 2022 policy guide for lawmakers that 'very few studies find that minimum wages boost employment and that a significant minority find no to small employment effects.