Republicans Are Trying (and Failing) to Defend Reckless War-Plans Group Chat

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) instituted a $5 cap on overdraft fees under President Joe Biden. Thankfully for major banking institutions -- and unfortunately for working Americans -- Donald Trump won the presidential election last November, and with his administration's blessing, Republicans just advanced legislation to repeal the cap on overdraft fees.

The Senate voted 52-48 on Thursday in favor of a resolution from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to repeal the rule. Scott had the gall to say that removing the CFPB's cap on overdraft fees would be "good for consumers" while arguing for the resolution on the Senate floor.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing the resolution, disagrees. "Why would we help the big banks at the expense of working people?" Hawley asked reporters following the vote, per Semafor. "I just don't understand it."

So does Chuck Bell, advocacy program director at Consumer Reports. "The CFPB's rule imposes reasonable limits that protect consumers from unfair fees while enabling banks to cover their costs," he told Bloomberg. "Repealing the CFPB's overdraft fee limits will hurt working families who are already struggling with high prices and inflation."

The CFPB's cap on overdraft fees -- which then-Director Rohit Chopra said would save consumers $5 billion a year -- led to a lawsuit in December from the American Bankers Association, which alleged the CFPB overstepped its authority and claimed, like Scott, the cap actually hurts consumers.

While Trump campaigned on capping credit card interest rates, his administration endorsed Scott's legislation. Team Trump isn't just going after the cap on overdraft fees -- it wants to effectively eliminate the CFPB. "CFPB RIP," Elon Musk, whose so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is orchestrating the administration's destruction of federal systems that aid working Americans, wrote in February.

Musk acknowledged in a subsequent post that the CFPB "did above zero good things," but that it "still needs to go."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who helped create the CFPB, spoke to Rolling Stone in February about the Trump administration's efforts to remove the guardrails and let big business take advantage of Americans. "Over the past few years, 6.7 million people filed complaints with the CFPB," she said. "Finally, in America, they had someone on their side when they went up against a giant bank or a fly-by-night, sleazy lender. They got some help -- a little more of a level playing field. Donald Trump wants to take that away from them."

So do Republicans in the Senate. The resolution scrapping the cap on overdraft fees will now head to the GOP-led House.