Trump calls for 10% one-year cap on credit card rates

“Please be informed that we will no longer allow the American public to be ‘ripped off’ by credit card companies charging interest rates of 20-30%, and even higher, which have festered unhindered under the sleepy Joe Biden administration. AFFORDABILITY! ” he wrote on social media.

It’s unclear whether credit card companies will heed his call, or what steps he might take to force change.

The message comes as the Trump administration steps up efforts to demonstrate to voters that the president is addressing concerns about costs and prices that have become a central issue in November’s midterm elections.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to seek to limit the interest that credit card companies can charge.

Hours before his Friday message, Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, said on

In a letter last year to Sanders and Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, a group of banking industry trade groups described a dire outcome for consumers if the government caps credit card interest rates at 10 percent, as the senators had proposed.

“Many consumers who currently rely on credit cards would be forced to turn to other sources of short-term financing, including pawn shops, auto title lenders, or worse, such as loan sharks, unregulated online lenders, and the black market,” the group wrote.

The Bank Policy Institute said in a statement report last year that “while the proposed cap is a well-intentioned effort to reduce the heavy debt burden some households face, it would harm consumers’ access to card credit.” The group also said such a move could force card issuers to reduce cardholder benefits, including lucrative rewards tied to purchases.

Responding to Trump’s post on Friday, Hawley said on X: “Fantastic idea. I can’t wait to vote for it.”