The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new banking rule on Thursday, December 12, 2024, that caps bank overdraft fees at $5.00 beginning October 1, 2025.
It may not last long. Huffington Post says (here) the new regulation “faces an uncertain future under President-elect Donald Trump.”
Trump’s Rasputins — Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk, and the Project 2025 authors — want to abolish CFPB altogether. He’ll also get pressure from Republicans and bankers to kill the rule. I’d bet money a rule like this won’t go into effect until the next Democratic administration.
Of course, the Biden administration knows that, so why do it? Because it puts the GOP in a bind. If they do kill the rule, Democrats will run campaign ads in 2026 saying they lowered overdraft fees to $5.00 and Republicans working hand-in-glove with bankers reinstated fee gouging.
Hardly anything says more loudly, “Republicans screw consumers.” That’s why they’re going forward with this doomed rule change.