Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Friday, October 24, 2025.
Francisco Chung | Bloomberg | fake images
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday that big U.S. banks could voluntarily provide credit cards to underserved Americans as a means to address President Donald Trump's affordability push.
A week ago, Trump asked banks to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, an idea that has been roundly rejected by industry executives and their lobbyists this week.
Now, Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, is proposing a different plan, this one more focused on consumers who do not have access to credit but have income to justify lines of credit.
“They could voluntarily help people who are in that sweet spot of not having a lot of financial leverage because they don't have access to credit, but they have enough income and stability in their lives to be creditworthy,” Hassett told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“Our expectation is that it won't necessarily require legislation, because there will be some really great new 'trump cards' for people that banks will provide voluntarily,” he said.
The comments could indicate that the administration is scaling back its efforts to make broad changes to the card industry that would be difficult to implement and could hurt consumer spending and the economy.
This week, bankers discussing fourth-quarter results said that instead of offering cards at a 10% interest rate, as Trump has said should happen by Jan. 20, banks would simply close many customers' accounts.
Hassett's statement came in response to a question about whether bankers would be forced to comply with Trump's rate cap, a move that would likely require new legislation.
The administration has been talking to “CEOs of many of the big banks who think the president is onto something,” Hassett said.
A major credit card issuer and a banking lobbyist representing large lenders told CNBC they have not yet had conversations with the administration about the “Trump Card” concept.
