No national hike for the minimum wage

Despite a campaign pledge to raise it, the federal minimum wage remained at $7.25 an hour during Joe Biden's presidency. Although the federal minimum wage is moot in many states that have passed higher levels, 21 states have no minimum wage or a lower one, so federal law sets their wage floor.

Biden included a provision to increase the minimum wage in his American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus pandemic relief bill. But the minimum wage provision was stripped before the bill passed. Democrats did not pursue a stand-alone minimum wage bill during the rest of the Biden presidency; even if it had met the Senate's 60-vote threshold for a final vote, the bill likely would have died in the House, which Republicans controlled during Biden's final two years in office.

Raising the minimum wage is popular with the public; in 2024, Data for Progress, a liberal-leaning polling company, found that even majorities of Republicans supported hiking the federal rate to $9 or $12. But business groups and their allies among lawmakers have traditionally fought minimum wage hikes, arguing that they would raise employers' costs and lead to job losses. 

Biden instituted a $15 minimum wage for employees working on federal contracts and federal employees. That policy took effect in 2022, though it has faced legal challenges. In April, a federal appeals court upheld Biden's policy.

However, raising the minimum wage for federal contractors is a more limited action than increasing it for everyone. We rate this Promise Broken.