Sen. Warren blasts CFPB director Vought for undermining Trump’s credit card affordability push

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is accusing acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Russell Vought of taking steps that contradict President Donald Trump’s stated goal of making credit cards more affordable for consumers.

What Warren is alleging

• Warren says the CFPB under Vought has:

  • Scrapped a rule that would have capped most credit card late fees at 8 dollars, a change she argues would save Americans over 10 billion dollars a year.

  • Backed lenders in lawsuits over deceptive credit card practices.

  • Paused or weakened enforcement actions against major banks and card issuers.

• She argues these moves make it easier for large banks and card companies to “rip off” consumers, directly clashing with Trump’s public messaging on affordability.

Trump’s credit card affordability push

• Earlier this month, Trump urged U.S. banks to voluntarily cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year.

• When banks did not follow, he called on Congress to pass legislation imposing such a cap.

• Warren says she told Trump Congress could pass a rate-cap bill if he is willing to fight for it and use his influence with Republicans.

Warren’s demands to the CFPB

In her letter, Warren presses Vought to reverse course and use the agency’s authority more aggressively.

She specifically urges him to:

• Immediately restore the 8 dollar late-fee cap rule for major card issuers.

• Crack down on deceptive “deferred interest” promotions and misleading rewards programs.​

• Resume enforcing rules on interest rate hikes and respond more robustly to rising consumer complaints about credit cards.​

Broader political context

• Warren helped create the CFPB after the financial crisis and has long defended it as a key consumer watchdog.

• Trump allies have tried to weaken or even dismantle the bureau as part of a broader deregulatory agenda.

• Warren is using Trump’s new focus on credit card affordability to highlight what she sees as a gap between his rhetoric and the actions of his own regulators, ending her letter by saying either Trump is “not serious” about cheaper credit cards or Vought is “insubordinately” ignoring him.