Kevin Hassett pivots to possible ‘Trump cards’ amid credit card battle
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, speaks with members of the media outside the White House on Friday, October 24, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
Francis Chung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Major U.S. banks may voluntarily provide credit cards to underserved Americans as a way to respond to President Donald Trump’s affordability push, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday.
A week ago, Trump called on banks to cap credit card interest rates at 10%; The idea was completely rejected by industry executives and their lobbyists this week.
Now Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, is considering a different plan; This plan focuses more narrowly on consumers who do not have access to credit but have income that justifies their credit limit.
“They could potentially provide voluntary assistance to people who may not have a lot of financial leverage because they don’t have access to credit, but are in that kind of sweet spot in their lives where they are credit-worthy because they have enough income and stability.” Hassett told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“Our expectation is that this won’t necessarily require legislation, because there will be some really cool new ‘Trump cards’ offered to people voluntarily by banks,” he said.
The comments may indicate a downgrade of the administration’s efforts to push for broad changes to the card industry that would be difficult to enact and could negatively impact consumer spending and the economy.
Bankers discussing fourth-quarter results this week said banks will close many customers’ accounts instead of offering cards with a 10% interest rate, as Trump said should happen by Jan. 20.
Hassett’s statement came in response to a question about whether bankers would be forced to comply with Trump’s interest rate cap; This move will likely require new legislation.
Hassett said the administration has met with “the CEOs of most of the major banks who think the president is up to something.”
A major credit card provider and a bank lobbyist representing major lenders told CNBC that they have not yet had any discussions with the administration about the “Trump card” concept.
