Will Americans finally pay less on credit card debt? Elizabeth Warren backs Trump's 10% interest rate cap after midterm wins

Senator Elizabeth Warren says she is ready to work with President Donald Trump on a bill that would cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent. She said so on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, 8 November, days after Democrats had a strong midterm election.

“I got the bill. I’m ready to go,” she told host Margaret Brennan. She pointed out that Trump himself has said he wants lower card rates. She said the same about housing, where she says Democrats also have bills ready.

Trump said in the days after the midterms that he wanted to work with the opposition.

What a 10% cap would mean for people who carry a balance

The Federal Reserve put the average interest rate on bank credit cards at 22.36% in the third quarter of 2026. That figure matters only to people who don’t clear their bill each month. Those who pay in full usually owe no interest.

Take a $5,000 balance held for a year. At 22.36%, the interest comes to roughly $1,118. At 10%, it would be $500. That’s a gap of about $618, before compounding and fees, which would change the exact amounts.

Rates weren’t always this high. The average was 13.9% a decade ago, and it stood at 22.3% in November 2025. Part of the rise comes from more overdue balances and the Fed’s elevated interest rates in recent years.

Trump asked for the same cap in January

Warren isn’t starting from scratch. On 10 January, Trump called for a one-year cap at 10%, starting 20 January. He gave no details on how it would work or how companies would be made to follow it. At the time, he said Americans were being “ripped off” by card companies.

Banks pushed back quickly. The American Bankers Association and other industry groups said a 10% cap would reduce credit availability. Some groups also warned that people could end up using less regulated and costlier options, such as buy now, pay later firms and payday lenders. Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned that a cap could cut off access to credit for many people.

Warren was sceptical at first. She said that begging card companies to behave was a joke. Trump then phoned her, and she said Congress could pass a cap if he actually fought for it. Later, after the 20 January deadline, she accused Trump of breaking his promise, writing in a Fox News op-ed that his own regulators were helping the banks.

The numbers suggest nothing changed for borrowers. The 22.36% figure for this year’s third quarter is almost the same as the 22.3% recorded in November 2025.

Several bills were already on the table. Senators Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley had a bipartisan bill for a temporary 10% cap, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. In the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna introduced their own 10% cap bill. Republican Senator Roger Marshall planned a bill matching Trump’s one-year idea.

What could be different this time

The biggest change is who controls Congress. Republican leaders were reluctant to move Trump’s proposal, and Democrats’ wins mean those leaders will no longer set the legislative agenda. The new Congress, though, only takes over in early January. Until then, the current one stays in place.

Details still need settling. In the quote reported, Warren didn’t say which bill she meant. The Sanders-Hawley version runs for five years, while Trump asked for one. Any compromise would have to settle the length of the cap, how it’s enforced, and what happens to lenders who don’t comply.

Banks haven’t changed their position either. Their argument is that a hard cap makes risky borrowers harder to lend to, and it hasn’t been tested in the US. Until something passes, the average cardholder still pays more than 22%.