Democratic senator pushes for a really high minimum wage

WASHINGTON – A Democratic senator on Thursday introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2029, setting a new benchmark for progressives hoping to raise the minimum wage.

Sen. Rubén Gallego (Ariz.) told News themezone that he believes President Donald Trump’s populist talk on economic issues could provide an opportunity for real negotiations, even though most Republicans have resisted an increase for the past 15 years. Democrats, he said, should at least “throw it out.”

“You are seeing many types of populist movements from this president and sometimes we could end up aligning,” Gallego said. “Who knows, maybe we will have a chance to have some movement.”

It’s fitting that Gallego takes a bold stand on the minimum wage: She ran for the Senate in part in response to her predecessor, former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who voted against a $15-an-hour minimum wage with a thumb down flourish in 2021.

Unless Trump adopts a higher minimum wage this year, there is no chance the Republican-controlled House or Senate will pass one. Congress has not passed legislation to increase the federal minimum wage since 2007, under then-President George W. Bush. Former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden pushed for increases but were stymied by Republican opposition.

The federal minimum wage remains just $7.25 per hour (the equivalent wage of $15,000 a year) and prevails in any state that does not mandate a higher wage. Higher state minimum wages and inflation in recent years have diminished the relevance of the federal floor, with only about 1.1% of workers reaching the federal minimum in 2024, the latest year for which data is available.

Gallego said it’s smart to take an aggressive stance on the minimum wage not only to appeal to voters concerned about affordability, but also to make sure Democrats are ready to act if they control Congress next year.

“I think next year we will be in a better situation as a country, potentially even now that we take back the Senate,” he said. “And if that’s the case, then this should be one of our founding principles as a group.”

Tom Williams via Getty Images

Last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and dozens of Democrats co-sponsored legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour. With his proposal for a $20 minimum wage, Gallego has apparently surpassed the progressive leader in Congress.

As for Trump, he has already trashed Republican orthodoxy on free trade and, in an effort to respond to concerns about affordability, pushed for looser monetary policy and a cap on credit card interest rates. But he hasn’t shown much interest in the minimum wage during his second term, except to reduce it for federal contractors. He has repeatedly changed on the issue over the years, sometimes showing signs of being open to raising it, only to reverse himself.

‘Well, I would leave it and turn it up a little bit,’ Trump he told Bill O’Reilly in 2016, contradicting themselves in the same sentence.

It’s probably no coincidence that Gallego is one of many Democratic officials trying to stand out at a time when there is no clear standard-bearer for the party heading into the 2028 presidential election. Gallego declined to say whether he is running for president.

“What we will focus on between now and 2026 is making sure we put Democrats on the right path to victory,” he said. “We cannot lose sight of why we lost the [2024] choice. We are misaligned [with] where the voters are. “Voters care about standards of living, cost of living, immigration, immigration control and border security.”