Skip to main content
Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Cooper: Parliamentarian’s minimum-wage decision should encourage compromise, but only angers Democrats

The Associated Press / Cristian Cardona, right, an employee at a McDonald's restaurant, attends a rally for a $15 an hour minimum wage last week in Orlando, Florida.
The Associated Press / Cristian Cardona, right, an employee at a McDonald's restaurant, attends a rally for a $15 an hour minimum wage last week in Orlando, Florida. The Associated Press / Cristian Cardona, right, an employee at a McDonald's restaurant, attends a rally for a $15 an hour minimum wage last week in Orlando, Florida.

By Clint Cooper 4 min read

It appears the battle for a gradual $15 minimum wage will determine the degree of Democratic desperation.

Democrats were dealt a severe blow Thursday when nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth McDonough said the minimum wage tenet of the party’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill could not be included if the body attempts to pass the bill through the reconciliation process.

That process would allow the Senate to pass the bill with only 51 votes (48 Democrats, two independents who vote with Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris), but rules say all provisions of the legislation must be related to the budget and not just tangentially.

McDonough’s decision affirmed what is known as the Byrd rule.

Democrats are pondering their next moves.