Senate Republicans block minimum wage hike

Senate Republicans on Wednesday filibustered a Democrat-sponsored bill that would have raised the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour.

By a 52-42 vote, the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to cut off debate on the Minimum Wage Fairness Act. Every Republican save one, Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), voted against allowing the bill to proceed.

On the Democratic side, Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) voted "no," though only as a procedural tactic so he can bring the legislation up at a later time. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who is one of the most vulnerable Dems facing re-election this year, and who was expected to vote against the measure, missed the vote because of the deadly tornadoes in his home state.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Expect this vote to factor prominently into the midterm messaging war. Seven in ten Americans support hiking the minimum wage to $10.10, and now Democrats have a sharp attack line for their campaign pitch: We tried to do what 70 percent of Americans want to help the middle class, but an uncooperative minority in Congress stopped us.