WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned on Friday he was calling for a one-year cap on bank card rates of interest at 10% beginning on January 20 however he didn’t present particulars on how his plan will come to fruition or how he deliberate to make firms comply.
Trump additionally made the pledge through the marketing campaign for the 2024 election that he gained however analysts dismissed it on the time saying that such a step required congressional approval.
Lawmakers from each the Democratic and Republican Events have raised considerations about excessive charges and have known as for these to be addressed. Republicans presently maintain a slim majority in each the Senate and the Home of Representatives.
There have been some legislative efforts in Congress to pursue such a proposal however they’re but to develop into regulation and in his put up Trump didn’t supply specific help to any particular invoice.
Opposition lawmakers have criticized Trump, a Republican, for not having delivered on his marketing campaign pledge.
“Efficient January 20, 2026, I, as President of the US, am calling for a one 12 months cap on Credit score Card Curiosity Charges of 10%,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, with out offering extra particulars.
“Please be told that we’ll not let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit score Card Corporations,” Trump added.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat within the Senate Banking Committee, mentioned Trump’s name was meaningless with no invoice being handed by Congress.
“Begging bank card firms to play good is a joke. I mentioned a 12 months in the past if Trump was critical I’d work to go a invoice to cap charges,” Warren mentioned, whereas criticizing Trump’s makes an attempt to intestine the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon particulars of the decision from Trump, however mentioned on social media with out elaborating that the president was capping the charges.
Some main U.S. banks and bank card issuers like American Specific, Capital One Monetary Corp, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Financial institution of America didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Lawmakers have raised considerations about charges
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a fierce Trump critic, and Senator Josh Hawley, who belongs to Trump’s Republican Party, have beforehand launched bipartisan laws aimed toward capping bank card rates of interest at 10% for 5 years. This invoice explicitly directs bank card firms to restrict charges as a part of broader client aid laws.
Democratic U.S. Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna have additionally launched a Home of Representatives invoice to cap bank card rates of interest at 10%, reflecting cross-aisle curiosity in addressing excessive charges.
Billionaire fund supervisor Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump within the final elections, mentioned the U.S. president’s name was a “mistake.”
“This can be a mistake,” Ackman wrote on X.
“With out having the ability to cost charges ample sufficient to cowl losses and earn an ample return on fairness, bank card lenders will cancel playing cards for thousands and thousands of customers who should flip to mortgage sharks for credit score at charges increased than and on phrases inferior to what they beforehand paid.”
Final 12 months, the Trump administration moved to scrap a bank card late payment rule from the period of former President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration had requested a federal courtroom to throw out a regulation capping bank card late charges at $8, saying it agreed with enterprise and banking teams that alleged the rule was unlawful. A federal decide subsequently threw out the rule.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward in Washington; Further reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Pete Schroeder, Saeed Azhar, Nate Raymond, Michelle Worth and David Shepardson; Modifying by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)
