Senator Bernie Sanders just published an op-ed in Fox News—yes, that Fox News—calling for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. The Vermont independent’s decision to take his message directly to conservative audiences signals just how serious he is about building a cross-partisan coalition to take on Wall Street.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Sanders is pushing bipartisan legislation he introduced with Republican Senator Josh Hawley that would cap credit card interest rates at 10% for at least five years, with the goal of eventually making a 15% cap permanent. The proposal mirrors one Trump floated earlier this year—though Sanders is quick to point out that Trump’s version is a “bait and switch” that would only last one year.
The numbers are genuinely staggering. According to Sanders’ op-ed, Americans are drowning in a record $1.23 trillion in credit card debt. The average interest rate? Nearly 24%. Meanwhile, banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve at less than 4%. Credit card companies raked in over $190 billion from interest and fees in 2024 alone.
THE DETAILS: Sanders doesn’t pull punches naming names. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who opposes the legislation, made $770 million in compensation last year while his bank pocketed $57 billion in profits—charging Americans interest rates as high as 30%. Researchers at Vanderbilt University estimate the bill would save Americans $100 billion annually, or about $899 per household.
Sanders offers a concrete example: A $5,000 credit card balance at 28% interest can cost over $11,000 in interest payments and take 24 years to pay off. Under a 10% cap, that same consumer would save $7,200—and the bank would still profit $3,700.
BUT BUT BUT: The American Bankers Association and Wall Street executives claim the cap would restrict credit access for low-income consumers. Sanders calls this backward: “This bill would restrict JPMorgan Chase and other financial behemoths from charging working-class Americans predatory credit card interest rates that trap them into a vicious cycle of debt.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Sanders publishing in Fox News isn’t just savvy media strategy—it’s an acknowledgment that populist economic anger crosses partisan lines. When a self-described democratic socialist and a MAGA-aligned Republican like Hawley can agree that Wall Street is fleecing working families, something might actually get done.
The question is whether Trump will back legislation with real teeth, or stick with his one-year teaser rate that looks suspiciously like the predatory offers banks already use to hook consumers.
As Sanders put it, invoking Dante: “Charging outrageously high interest rates is not a financial service. It is usury.”