Wall Street and Credit Card Companies Signal Strong Opposition to Trump’s Pledge
Reviving a campaign pledge, Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has largely been in his corner.
Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.
Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street and the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and to support his second-term agenda.
“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.
Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but remains near historic highs since federal regulators began tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s.
The Republican administration has, until now, proved particularly friendly to the credit card industry.
Capital One faced little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tasked with policing alleged wrongdoing by financial institutions, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.
In a joint statement, the banking industry voiced firm opposition to Trump’s proposal.
“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives,” the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.
The White House did not respond to questions about how the president intends to impose the cap or whether he has spoken directly with credit card companies about the idea.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he spoke with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is intended to “lower costs for American families and to rein in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long.”
Legislation in both the House and Senate would achieve what Trump is seeking.
Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a proposal in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, aiming to leverage Trump’s campaign promise to build bipartisan momentum.
Hours before Trump’s post, Sanders criticized the president for previously moving to deregulate large banks, arguing those steps enabled financial institutions to charge higher credit card fees.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.
