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Donald Trump Weighs In on Plan To Increase Minimum Wage
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President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty over whether he would support a Republican-led proposal to raise the federal minimum wage, when asked about the measure at the White House on Wednesday.
The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri last week, seeks to double the current federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. In response to a reporter's question on the plan, Trump replied: "I haven't seen it. I'd have to speak to Josh. He's a very good friend of mine."
"That's interesting that Josh did that," Trump added. "You have to think about that one."
Newsweek contacted Senator Hawley's office via email on Thursday for comment on the bill and President Trump's reaction.
Why It Matters
The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009, rising to $7.25
While many states have independently adopted minimum wages well above the mandated rate, advocates for increasing this nationwide maintain that this would directly benefit lower earners, while reducing income inequality and improve average living standards. Critics, however, contend that a significant hike would raise labor costs to the detriment of employers, particularly small businesses, and result in increased unemployment.
What To Know
Hawley's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal
Last week, Senator Hawley, along with Vermont Democrat Senator Peter Welch, introduced the "Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2025."
If signed into law, the bill would doubled the current minimum wage to $15 from January 2026 and allow increases with inflation in subsequent years.
Hawley has in the past proposed similar measures, including a 2021 plan to force companies with revenues over $1 billion to pay their employees $15 per hour, and has argued that the latest bill is necessary for earnings to "keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day."
Hawley also addressed the bill's bipartisan sponsorship of the bill, describing it as "a populist position," and telling NBC News that, "if we're going to be a working people's party, we have to do something for working people."
Current U.S. Minimum Wage Context
Thirty states have adopted their own minimum wages above the 2009 federal rate, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). These include Hawley's home state of Missouri, which increased its baseline to $13.75 and plans to raise it to $15.00 starting January 1, 2026.
Ben Zipperer, senior economist with the EPI, a progressive think tank that supports raising the minimum wage, told Newsweek that a Republican's sponsorship of the bill "is admission that minimum wages are a very popular policy to correct the widespread problem of low pay." However he expressed skepticism that the party would "abandon their consistent role as the chief obstacle to federal minimum wage increases."
Advocates for raising the federal minimum wage have argued that increases benefit low-income workers, increasingly grappling with inflation and strained budgets, while detractors worry about potential negative impacts for businesses and on employment.
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House as members of Italian soccer club Juventus pay a visit in Washington, DC, on June 18, 2025.
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House as members of Italian soccer club Juventus pay a visit in Washington, DC, on June 18, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Zipperer said that the hike proposed by Hawley and Welch, or the Democratic bill introduced earlier this year which would raise this incrementally to $17 an hour by 2030, would "unambiguously benefit low wage workers and their families and communities." He cited a 2024 EPI study which found that most research into the topic has found either no resulting job losses or "only small disemployment effects."
However, economist David Neumark of the University of California, Irvine, said that research "overwhelmingly points to some job loss for the least skilled, and no gains on net for low income families, as some gain higher wages but others lose jobs or have hours reduced." Neumark's recent research into the topic, he told Newsweek, "says the burden falls very disproportionately on blacks, not whites. I.e., whites get more of the wage gains, and blacks experience more of the jobs/hours loss."
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Sarah Wynn-Williams, former Director of Global Public Policy at Facebook, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 09,...
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Sarah Wynn-Williams, former Director of Global Public Policy at Facebook, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. MorePresident Trump has previously expressed some openness to raising the minimum wage. In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press in December, Trump acknowledged that $7.25 was "a very low number," and that there "is a level at which you can do it."
"Let me give you the downside, though: In California, they raised it up to a very high number, and your restaurants are going out of business all over the place," Trump told host Kristen Welker. "The population is shrinking, it's had a very negative impact," But there is a level at which you could do it, absolutely."
California had a $15 per hour cap on mimimum wage, which most employees hit in 2023. High inflation allowed for a further 50 cents in 2024.
The state last rose minimum rose in January 2025, reaching $16.50. Its population grew by 108,000 people in calendar year 2024, according to new data from the California Department of Finance released last month.
"Despite the common myth of a continually declining population," a media release said. "California has only saw a short period of population loss in its 174 year history — during the peak of the COVID pandemic, when it decreased by 379,544 people (which represents about 1% decrease over those two years), according to the U.S. Census Bureau."
What People Are Saying
President Trump, asked about the bill on Wednesday, said: "Some people agree with it. Some people don't. You know, some people say it really turns away business, restaurants, clothes and a lot of things happen. Other people agree. I'd have to speak to Josh—he's a good guy."
Senator Josh Hawley said in a statement last week: "For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline. One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hardworking Americans every day. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that workers across America benefit from higher wages,"
Ben Zipperer, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute told Newsweek he had "no predictions" about Trump's position on the issue, adding: "I'd hope that he would be concerned that over 14 million workers are paid less than $15 per hour, but given that he was unaware of a bill to raise their wages, it seems he's out to lunch."
David Neumark, professor of economics at the University of California, Irvine, told Newsweek: "This isn't new for [Senator] Hawley. He is conservative on many issues, but a populist when it comes to labor. Still, some Republican support could make this happen, and would be popular politically."
Michael Reich, professor of Economics and Chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, told Newsweek: "Public opinion polls and polls of economists have long revealed majority support for a $15 federal minimum wage. Yet Hawley's proposal has not drawn support from any other Republican politicians, even among those in states that already have $15 minimum wages." He added that Trump was "famously fickle on many economic policies."
"He expressed varying views about raising the minimum wage during the 2024 campaign, but has not raised it himself since."
What Happens Next?
Hawley and Welch's bill has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for review and consideration, who will be tasked with deciding whether it should move forward to a vote.
