A key US Senate official ruled Thursday that President Joe Biden's $15 per hour minimum wage measure cannot be included in the huge Covid relief bill as written, imperiling Democratic efforts to fulfill a progressive priority. The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, told lawmakers that the minimum wage language is not eligible to be in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus package if Democrats seek to pass it through a filibuster-proof bill. "We are deeply disappointed in this decision," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday, one day before the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the plan aimed at providing relief to American families, businesses and communities hurt by the pandemic. mlm/bfm