Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and President-elect Donald Trump make the oddest of odd couples.
But in a shocking twist, Sanders has vocally volunteered to lead the charge for one of Trump’s key initiatives — a move that could rattle the fabric of D.C. politics as we know it.
According to Fox News, Sanders said he will push forward new legislation to cap credit card interest rates to 10%.
Coincidentally, the move is something Trump said he was going to do during his presidential campaign.
“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,” Sanders wrote on X.
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
Trump floated implementing a “temporary cap on credit card interest rates” during his campaign, saying:
“We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.”
Trump framed the temporary policy as something to help Americans as they “catch up.”
Regarding whether the president-elect still intends to implement this policy after he debuted it during his campaign, Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in a statement:
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”
While Trump backed such a temporary cap, Republicans have often opposed policies that could be harmful to businesses and restrict the availability of credit cards.
Sanders’ office did not answer whether the cap in his legislation would be temporary, as Trump said, when asked for comment.
The move — even if temporary — would impact millions of Americans.
The amount of credit card debt held by Americans rose to $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, according MarketWatch.
According to data from Lending Tree, the average credit card interest rate in December was 24.43%, MarketWatch also reported.