Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is demanding the federal minimum wage be raised to $20 per hour.
She made the statement Sunday at an event in Detroit, one of the countries most crime-ridden cities.
The announcement immediately prompted mockery from conservative business owners and politicians.
Republicans said they will force mainline Democrats in the 2020 presidential race to address the issue in upcoming debates.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a $15 federal minimum wage bill last week, however, it has little chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate.
Republicans contend that if the federal minimum wage were to be raised to even $15 per hour that small businesses would close within months and the economy would be crippled.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she fully supports Tlaib’s demands.
Democratic presidential debates will be aired again on July 30 and 31.