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President Donald Trump could save American families hundreds of dollars on credit cards, but so far, he’s been all talk and no action.
At the State of the Union, President Trump will try to spin a happy story about his failed economic agenda. During his campaign, he promised to lower costs “on day one.” He is now more than four hundred days into his second term, and his policies are forcing Americans to pay more for everything from groceries to housing and electricity. Last Friday, the Supreme Court rebuked him for illegally taking money from working families. And polls show the American people think the president is not doing enough to lower costs.
One way Trump could lower costs quickly is to follow through on his campaign promise to put a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. This could save the average American with credit card debt about $900 a year. Collectively, families would save roughly $100 billion, giving them some breathing room and strengthening the economy overall.
TRUMP CALLS FOR 1-YEAR 10% CAP ON CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATES
On Jan. 9, the president seemed poised to act. He announced that credit card companies will no longer rip off the American people — and then he politely asked the biggest banks to put in place a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates by Jan. 20. At the time, I said that asking credit card companies to play nice is silly, and if the president was serious, he’d work to pass a bill through Congress that would deliver lower rates.
Three days later, President Trump called me himself. I had just given a speech noting that he is driving up costs for families and sowing terror and chaos in our communities. I repeated my push: If the president really wanted to cap credit card interest rates, he would use his leverage and push a bill through Congress. On our phone call, I delivered the same message.
While the president dawdles, the big banks are coming out of the woodwork to warn of an ‘economic disaster’ if we cap credit card interest rates. Give me a break.
That was six weeks ago. President Trump’s Jan. 20 deadline has come and gone, and no one is surprised that the big banks have not voluntarily cut credit card rates to help American families. Instead, Trump and his budget chief, Russ Vought, have moved in the opposite direction, trying to sideline the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could be used to bring down credit card costs. While Trump claims he wants a credit card interest rate cap, his own regulators are helping out those very same Wall Street banks that are ripping off Americans and blocking states from protecting their citizens from sky-high loans.
SEN BERNIE SANDERS: WE NEED TO CAP CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATES AT 10%
While the president dawdles, the big banks are coming out of the woodwork to warn of an “economic disaster” if we cap credit card interest rates. Give me a break. These are the most profitable financial institutions in the history of the world. There is no reason for them to demand 25% or 30% interest rates when smaller banks and credit unions are offering much lower credit card interest rates and are still making solid profits.
The big banks make about a 1.5% return on their lending generally — but for credit cards, they make a whopping 6.8% return. Credit cards also bring in and sustain new customers for other services. These banks could lower credit card rates and still be wildly profitable.
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Credit card CEOs love those high rates because they help finance a big chunk of the salaries and bonuses for those at the top. Compensation for every big bank CEO topped $40 million last year, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon pocketing a tidy $770 million. Shareholders are happy, too. Big banks paid out a record $140 billion in dividends and share buybacks in 2025. Meanwhile, the American people have been charged more than $150 billion annually in credit card interest.
Americans want relief — and Democrats are ready. After the president called me, I reached out repeatedly to his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to share ideas about how to design an emergency 10% rate cap that prohibits banks from retaliating by shutting down accounts, reducing credit lines or devaluing rewards. I also explained how we could transition to a permanent rate cap, so credit card companies can’t go right back to ripping people off after one year.
But after six weeks, there’s no deal to help the American people. We don’t need more speeches. We need an agreement on legislation and a commitment from the president to actually fight for it.
Let’s pass a bill to cap credit card interest rates. The Senate Banking Committee could hold hearings in March and get a bill to the president’s desk this spring.
No more delays. It’s time to deliver relief for American families.
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