Raising the US minimum wage: what just happened and what comes next?

A Senate official has ruled that the plan for a $15 minimum cannot be passed with only a simple majority but the fight is far from over

It was a major plank of the Democratic plan to build back better" - raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour as a way of boosting the economy during the pandemic and tackling poverty and income inequality. But on Thursday the much-vaunted plan hit a roadblock in the US Senate, which has knocked the proposal sideways.

Related: 'We need $15': US minimum wage ruling a personal blow for millions of workers