Johnson warns of 'unintended consequences' in Trump's credit card rate cap idea
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed back on a proposal from President Donald Trump to cap the interest that credit card companies can charge borrowers."I talked with him about it...
By Fox News · Fox News
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed back on a proposal from President Donald Trump to cap the interest that credit card companies can charge borrowers. " I talked with him about it briefly yesterday," Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. "The president is the ideas guy, and he's laser-focused on the same thing that we are. And that is reducing the cost of living ." "One of the things that the president probably had not thought through is the negative secondary effect; they would just stop lending money, and maybe they cap what people are able to borrow at a very low amount," Johnson said, referring to how lenders might react to such a law. THE ECONOMIC POLICIES SHAPING TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE Trump floated capping credit card interest rates at 10% for one year over the weekend, arguing that it would help Americans catch up on their debt. "I want a cap on credit card interest rates, because some of them are almost 30%," Trump told reporters on Monday. "And the people don’t know they’re paying 30%. No way. They’ve really abused the public. I’m not going to let it happen." Johnson said such a move would require congressional authority to implement the change. Initial assessments of the proposal have sparked alarm among experts at the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), an organization of community banks, payment card networks and credit unions that support increased access to online payments. Richard Hunt, executive chairman of EPC, told reporters that an analysis of the cap found that between 82% and 88% of credit card holders could see their card eliminated or their credit limit drastically reduced. WHITE HOUSE TEASES MAJOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN AS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS "I understand the president is trying to make sure Americans can afford to make ends meet, and we support that. But this study is to show them the Draconian effects that would happen to his voters and to the Senate and House members' constituents. This is serious stuff…