President Donald Trump announced Friday he is calling for a one-year cap limiting credit card interest rates to 10%.
Trump blamed the Biden administration for allowing rates to rise as high as 20–30%, adding that Americans were being “ripped off” by credit card companies.
“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“AFFORDABILITY! Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%.”
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Trump noted that the cap would coincide with the one-year anniversary of his return to the White House.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a bill in February 2025 that would cap credit card interest rates at 10%, but the changes would sunset on Jan. 1, 2031, making it nine years longer than the proposal outlined by Trump.
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Earlier Friday, before Trump announced his plan, Sanders smeared Trump for failing to cap credit card interest rates.
“Trump promised to cap credit card interest rates at 10% and stop Wall Street from getting away with murder,” Sanders wrote in an X post. “Instead, he deregulated big banks charging up to 30% interest on credit cards. The result? Last year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon made $770 million. Unacceptable.”
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The Bank Policy Institute, American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum and Independent Community Bankers of America issued a joint statement Friday saying the President’s proposal would be “devastating” for millions of Americans.
“We share the President’s goal of helping Americans access more affordable credit. At the same time, evidence shows that a 10% interest rate cap would reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small business owners who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help,” the groups stated.
The banks continued, “If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives. We look forward to working with the administration to ensure Americans have access to the credit they need.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, reacted to Trump’s proposal, calling it a “joke.”
“Begging credit card companies to play nice is a joke,” Warren said in a statement. “I said a year ago if Trump was serious I’d work to pass a bill to cap rates. Since then, he’s done nothing but try to shut down the CFPB.”
Warren accused Trump of not caring about affordability, adding that “Americans know a fraud when they see one.”
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman reacted to Trump’s announcement, calling the president’s proposal a “mistake.”
“Without being able to charge rates adequate enough to cover losses and to earn an adequate return on equity, credit card lenders will cancel cards for millions of consumers who will have to turn to loan sharks for credit at rates higher than and on terms inferior to what they previously paid,” he wrote on X.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., quickly voiced support for the proposal on X, saying he “can’t wait to vote for this.”
The White House and Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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