Bernie Sanders Announces Legislation to Codify Trump’s ‘Great’ Campaign Proposal

Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Monday that he plans to write legislation to codify President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to cap credit card rates.

The lawmaker called the proposal a “great idea” on social media.

“During the recent campaign Donald Trump proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates,” he wrote.

“Let’s see if he supports the legislation that I will introduce to do just that.”

During the recent campaign Donald Trump proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. Great idea. Let’s see if he supports the legislation that I will introduce to do just that.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 30, 2024

Both Sanders and Trump have been critical of elevated interest rates on credit cards, a concern that comes as credit card debt has increased in recent years amid elevated inflation.

Trump said during one September campaign rally in New York that capping credit card rates would help households recover from the economic tumult that has characterized Joe Biden’s presidency.

“While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates,” Trump told supporters, according to CNBC.

“We can’t let them make 25% and 30%,” he said of the credit card companies.

Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokeswoman who has since been tapped to serve as his White House press secretary, said at the time that the intent of the policy was indeed to “provide temporary and immediate relief for hardworking Americans.”

She specifically mentioned those “who are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford hefty interest payments on top of the skyrocketing costs of mortgages, rent, groceries and gas.”

Sanders voiced his approval of the policy days after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

“I look forward to working with the Trump Administration on fulfilling his promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10%,” Sanders said on social media platform X.

I look forward to working with the Trump Administration on fulfilling his promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10%.

We cannot continue to allow big banks to make record profits by ripping off Americans by charging them 25 to 30% interest rates.

That is usury.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 15, 2024

“We cannot continue to allow big banks to make record profits by ripping off Americans by charging them 25 to 30% interest rates,” he contended. “That is usury.”

Renewed discussion of the credit card rate cap occurs as the default rates for credit card debt have surged to their highest levels in nearly 15 years, as well as the highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.

In the first nine months of 2024, credit card lenders wrote off some $46 billion in seriously delinquent balances, according to a Sunday report from the Financial Times based on insights from BankRegData.

That marks a 50 percent increase from the same period one year earlier and the most severe default level since 2010.

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