Overview
- Trump’s Truth Social post urges a 10% ceiling on card interest for one year beginning Jan. 20, 2026, but provides no path for enforcement.
- Legal experts and some lawmakers say a nationwide cap would likely need congressional authorization and could face court challenges.
- Major issuers have not committed to comply as banking trade groups warn a strict cap would cut access for riskier borrowers and push some to costlier, less regulated lenders.
- Similar 10% cap bills backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Josh Hawley, and by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna, have been introduced but not enacted.
- Average card APRs top 20% and balances total about $1.23 trillion, while critics including investor Bill Ackman argue the proposal is a mistake that could lead to card cancellations.