Covid-19 bill must drop minimum wage hike, arbiter decides

The Senate has a long tradition of obeying the parliamentarian's decisions with few exceptions, a history that is revered by traditionalists like Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran

The Senate parliamentarian dealt a potentially lethal blow Thursday to Democrats' drive to hike the minimum wage, deciding that the cherished progressive goal must fall from a massive Covid-19 relief bill the party is trying to speed through Congress.

The finding by Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber's nonpartisan arbiter of its rules, means Democrats face an overwhelmingly uphill battle to boost the minimum wage this year because of solid Republican opposition. Their proposal would raise the federal minimum gradually to $15 hourly by 2025, well above the $7.25 floor in place since 2009.

President Joe Biden was disappointed in the outcome but respected