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February 26th, 2021 
Awake Goy 
Some Democrats posited that MacDonough’s ruling wasn’t binding and said Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, should overrule her.
“I’m sorry—an unelected parliamentarian does not get to deprive 32 million Americans the raise they deserve. This is an advisory, not a ruling. VP Harris needs to disregard and rule a $15 minimum wage in order. We were elected to deliver for the people. It’s time we do our job,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said in a tweet.
“The White House and Senate leadership can and should still include the minimum wage increase in the bill. We can’t allow the advisory opinion of the unelected parliamentarian to stand in the way,” added Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Calif.).
The White House has signaled it wouldn’t interfere, though.
“Certainly that’s not something we would do. We’re going to honor the rules of the Senate and work within that system to get this bill passed,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain said earlier this week when asked if Harris would try overruling MacDonough.
Biden “respect’s the parliamentarian’s decision and the Senate’s process,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki added in a statement on Thursday.
Biden told CBS earlier this month that he expected the wage hike wouldn’t end up in the final bill because of Senate rules.
Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he disagreed with the ruling, alleging the Congressional Budget Office “made it absolutely clear” that the wage hike should be allowed under reconciliation because of its “substantial budgetary impact.”
While Democrats enjoy a cushion in the lower chamber, with the party holding 220 seats to the GOP’s 211, losing even one Democrat in the Senate, which is divided between 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats or nominal independents who caucus with Democrats, means the party could only pass a bill with support from one or more Republicans.
But no Republican had signaled support for the wage hike, and several Senate Democrats recently announced opposition. The huge hike—the current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour—would drive countless small businesses out of business and make it difficult for others to compete with large corporations, critics say.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) this week proposed an increase to $11 an hour.
Sanders claimed that there would have been majority support in the Senate for the hike before MacDonough’s ruling. He said he’d now get to work on adding an amendment that would take tax deductions away from corporations that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour and provide small businesses “with the incentives they need to raise wages.”
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