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Ethan Agarwal challenges Khanna’s minimum wage push
Agarwal noted that the minimum wage in California, which both Khanna and Agarwal are vying to represent, is already $16.90.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 29, Apr 2026
- 05:40 EDT
- 30
L-R: Ethan Agarwal; Ro Khanna / Courtesy: X/@ethanagarwal; Wikipedia
Indian American congressional candidate Ethan Agarwal has challenged Congressman Ro Khanna’s latest bill on raising minimum wage, labeling it as a bill that would “never pass.”
Khanna co-introduced legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour, from the current $7.25. He described current economic conditions as a “new Gilded Age” marked by widening inequality.
The proposal, titled “the Living Wage for All Act,” was introduced by Analilia Mejía and Delia Ramirez. It would phase in a $25 hourly federal minimum wage, with large employers required to reach that level by 2031.
Sharing Khanna’s X post, Agarwal remarked, “Every small business owner will tell you minimum wage laws starve their ability to survive.”
Agarwal also came to the defense of the billionaires whom Khanna had previously attacked. Khanna had claimed that there are 19 billionaires in the country who are worth 12.5 percent of its economy, claiming that excessive capitalism is taking the value workers are producing and putting it in the hands of the investor class.
Agarwal countered, “Instead of introducing things that will never pass, Jeff Bezos gets things done. He introduced a $15 minimum wage in 2018 for all 1.1m Amazon employees in America.”
Agarwal’s description of the bill as something that will “never pass” leans toward the truth as the proposal faces uncertain prospects in a divided Congress, where previous efforts to raise the federal minimum wage have stalled.
ALSO READ: Palpable energy to replace Ro Khanna says Indian American challenger
Agarwal also noted that the minimum wage in California, which both Khanna and Agarwal are vying to represent, is already $16.90.
Agarwal ended his post questioning Khanna over his alleged inaction so far. He asked, “What have you done for minimum wage the last 8 years?”
Agarwal, 39, is best known as the founder of the audio fitness app Aaptiv and fintech startup The Coterie, which together raised more than $140 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Amazon and Disney.
He will go head to head against incumbent Ro Khanna for California’s 17th Congressional District in the June 2026 primary in the heavily Democratic seat.
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