Business
Sen. Warren blasts CFPB director for undermining Trump’s credit card affordability push
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought.
Kevin Mohatt | Kevin Lamarque | | Reuters
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Friday accused the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of undermining President Donald Trump‘s stated push to make credit cards more affordable, according to a letter obtained exclusively by CNBC.
In a letter to acting CFPB Director Russell Vought, Warren, D-Mass., noted that in the last year the agency has dropped a rule limiting credit card late fees, sided with lenders in lawsuits over deceptive practices and paused enforcement actions against the industry.
Earlier this month, Trump demanded in a social media post that U.S. banks voluntarily cap credit card interest rates at 10% for a year. When they didn’t, Trump this week called on lawmakers to pass legislation on the issue.
“I spoke with President Trump last week and told him that Congress could pass legislation to cap credit card rates, if he would fight for it,” Warren wrote in her letter to Vought.
“While Congress considers legislation to address the issue, your own actions are directly undermining the President’s stated goals,” she wrote. “Under your leadership, the CPFB has taken steps to make it easier—not harder—for big banks and credit card companies to rip off Americans.”
The letter from Warren seizes on Trump’s pivot to affordability and seeks to leverage his initiative against his own administration, escalating tensions over the financial regulatory agency that she helped to create under the Obama administration. Members of the Trump administration have sought to shutter the CFPB as part of a broader pro-business deregulatory agenda.
Current and former CFPB employees have said the agency is on life support under Vought, who has fought in court to enact mass layoffs and stop the agency’s funding.
Vought should be “using the full scope of [the CFPB’s] authorities to address excessive credit card costs and to crack down on bad actors,” instead of trying to dismantle the agency, Warren wrote.
She directed Vought to “immediately reinstate its rule capping credit card late fees at $8, which would save Americans more than $10 billion annually,” Warren said.
She contended Vought should also tamp down on deceptive practices around the industry’s deferred interest promotions, resume enforcement of rules around monitoring interest rate increases, respond to a mounting pile of consumer complaints, and halt bait-and-switch tactics with rewards programs.
“Either President Trump is not serious about making credit cards more affordable or you are insubordinately disregarding his direction,” she wrote.
The CFPB didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The earlier plan, which would have seen the US government take effective ownership of as much as 90% of the airline, faced stiff opposition from Wall Street, Capitol Hill and even a member of Trump’s own cabinet. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters a rescue would amount to tossing “good money after bad”.
Spirit Airlines check-in Kiosks sit idle at Oakland International Airport on August 13, 2025 in Oakland, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines could shut down as early as 3 a.m. ET Saturday, according to people familiar with the matter. The carrier has failed to secure a financial lifeline to continue operating, though it hasn’t commented on the potential shutdown or its plans.
About 290 Spirit flights are scheduled for Saturday, according to aviation site Flightradar24. Another 381 are scheduled for Sunday.
Travelers with Spirit tickets could be understandably rattled. While there have been some U.S. airlines to shut down in recent years, the budget carrier is larger than most recent airline failures and links major cities like New York, Miami, Detroit and Los Angles — and many others in between — with its Airbus jets.
Here’s what travelers need to know:
You have a Spirit ticket. What should you do?
Immediately? Nothing.
Travelers who are booked on a Spirit flight, like this CNBC reporter is for later this month, are likely to receive a refund if they purchased tickets with a credit card.
If the ticket was bought with a debit card or with loyalty points, however, the chances of recovering funds are slim to none, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel consulting firm.
“If you’re holding a reservation for a flight on Spirit don’t proactively cancel it. Wait for the airline to announce it is shutting down,” he said.
Would Spirit be able to help you at the airport?
Don’t count on it.
Spirit has declined to comment on a potential shutdown. If it confirms an end to operations, the carrier will most likely have information on its website about travelers’ next steps.
Harteveldt said travelers shouldn’t go to the airport expecting to find Spirit staff in the event the airline ceases operations. Call centers are likely to be overwhelmed if they are still staffed.
That could leave passengers with fewer answers than they’d like, but other airlines are likely to help assist affected customers.
Airlines that offer last-minute fares, likely with some discounts, will be available to travelers at airport ticket counters.
How can another airline help?
United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and American Airlines are among the carriers that have said they are ready to assist Spirit customers and crews if the carrier shuts down.
That could mean scheduling additional flights to carry the stranded passengers, similar to what they do during a hurricane or other natural disaster.
Why could Spirit shut down?
Spirit, known for bright yellow planes, low fares and fees for everything else, had been successful for years, but this week it’s been on the brink of liquidation after failing to reach a deal with bondholders for a $500 million government bailout from the Trump administration.
Last year Spirit filed for its second bankruptcy in less than a year, though it’s had a host of problems even before then.
A plan to be acquired by JetBlue was blocked. Rising costs upended its business model. An engine defect grounded dozens of its planes. And, more broadly, upscale travel became more popular with consumers, driving airline profits.
At the same time, big, legacy airlines were selling their own basic economy fares that were similar to what Spirit was offering, but with bigger networks.
What does this mean for travel going forward?
Airlines have been adding flights since Spirit’s bankruptcy filing last year on some of its routes and at major airports. They’re likely to keep doing so.
Experts have said they expect fares to rise, at least in some markets, if the discounter goes away, even though the carrier has shrunk substantially.
Business
Middle East crisis: Air India to make food optional, help cut price of tickets – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Full service Air India is planning to make meals optional on its domestic and short international (under two hour) flights. Once this “unbundling” rolls out in the next month or two, passengers opting out of meals could have upwards of Rs 250 shaved off their ticket price. While this move, say people in the know, is “on the anvil,” the airline is looking at several other unprecedented measures to fly through the severe cost-revenue turbulence caused by the unending West Asia war.While not opting for meals could lead to slightly cheaper economy tickets, AI is looking at unbundling lounge access for business class passengers because those opting out of this, could get their tickets cheaper. On an average, lounge operators charge Rs 1,100-1,400 per user at metro airports and Rs 600-700 at non metros.The average spend is about Rs 1,000 per lounge. Many business class flyers are frequent travellers who just make it to airports in time for their flight and do not head to the lounge. If unbundled, this could be a saving in their ticket cost. Banks have been reducing lounge access for credit card users for the same reason to cut their costs.“From Day One, Air India has had meals bundled in its ticket price. Now the way aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price is rising and the rupee crashing since Feb 28, ticket prices are going up. India is a price-sensitive market and raising fares beyond a point leads to a fall in traffic with many opting to travel by train or road. This has led to the rethinking to unbundle meals on some flights. Other steps are also being considered,” said people in the know.Several airlines globally have over the past few years unbundled their onboard offerings. Many international full service airlines offer a basic meal in economy while giving the option of buying gourmet meals at an additional cost. Ditto for alcoholic beverages, with cheaper beer and wines being given at no extra cost while the others being charged for. “For passengers, the distinction between full service and low cost airlines is blurring very fast,” said an industry old-timer.
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