Joe Manchin Defends Minimum Wage Stance of Republicans 'Just Not in Sync With Bernie Sanders' On 3/9/21 at 11:32 AM EST Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, defended Republicans opposing raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, saying they are simply opposed to such a substantial increase. President Joe Bidenand progressive Democrats have pushed to more than double the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15, but Manchin along with some other moderate Democrats and many Republicans have opposed the proposal. Democrats' efforts to include the substantial wage hike in Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan were blocked after the Senate's parliamentarian ruled that it could not be passed via the budget reconciliation process, which Democrats used to push through the bill without Republican support. Meanwhile, Manchin has suggested the federal minimum wage should be increased to just $11 per hour, while GOP Senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton have put forward a $10 per hour plan.