Ruben Gallego Introduces Bill For $20 Minimum Wage

Source: Huff Post

Feb 5, 2026, 05:00 AM EST | Updated an hour ago


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

Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) told HuffPost he believes President Donald Trump’s populist talk on economic issues could provide an opening for real negotiations, even though most Republicans have resisted an increase for the past 15 years. Democrats, he said, should at least be “throwing it out there.”

“You’re seeing a lot of kind of populist moves by this president that sometimes we could end up finding ourselves in alignment,” Gallego said. “Who knows, maybe there is an opportunity for us to have some movement.” It’s a fitting for Gallego to stake out a bold position on the minimum wage — he ran for Senate partly in response to his predecessor, former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), voting against a $15 per hour minimum wage with a thumbs-down flourish in 2021.

Unless Trump were to embrace a higher minimum wage this year, there’s no chance the Republican-controlled House or Senate would approve one. Congress hasn’t passed legislation to raise 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 GOP opposition.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ruben-gallego-minimum-wage-2028_n_6983d055e4b0926afe6a9d32