NEW YORK – President Donald Trump is resurrecting a campaign promise by proposing a 10% cap on credit card interest rates for one year. This initiative could potentially save Americans billions of dollars, but it faces immediate resistance from an industry that has previously supported him.

In a social media post on Friday night, Trump did not specify whether he plans to implement the cap through executive action or legislation. However, a Republican senator revealed he had discussed the matter with Trump and plans to draft a bill with the president’s “full support.” Trump expressed a desire for this cap to be effective by January 20, marking one year since he assumed office.

Wall Street and credit card companies, significant contributors to Trump’s 2024 campaign and his agenda for a second term, are expected to strongly oppose this proposal.

Trump declared on his Truth Social platform, “We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%.”

Analysts who evaluated Trump’s original campaign promise estimated that capping credit card rates at 10% could save Americans around $100 billion annually in interest. While this would significantly impact the credit card industry, the researchers noted that the sector would remain profitable, albeit with possible reductions in credit card rewards and other perks.

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 is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got 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, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed 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 seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long.”

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump’s post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much 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.

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Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.