First lady steps into spotlight for state visit with France

There were no celebrity guests, Hollywood entertainers or superstar chefs. But as she stepped out of the background to host her first state dinner, Melania Trump sought to sparkle in her moment in the spotlight.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, pose for photographs as they arrive for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

After ditching her trademark dark sunglasses for a white skirt suit and hat earlier Tuesday, the first lady appeared in a Chanel gown to greet President Emmanuel Macron of France and his wife, Brigitte, as they arrived for the first state dinner of Trump's administration.

It was a big moment in fashion — and public life — for the former model, who has kept a relatively low profile since Trump took office, and one that played out as her husband is shadowed by a legal threat from a porn actress who says she was paid to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.

With the opulent affair, Mrs. Trump seemed to be aiming to make a statement, stressing her personal involvement in picking the menu and gold-trimmed table settings. In a nod to France, she wore a black Chantilly lace Chanel haute couture gown, hand-painted with silver and embroidered with crystal and sequins, according to her spokeswoman. Her French counterpart wore Louis Vuitton.

President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump greet French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron as they arrive for a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The president lavished praise on his wife in his toast, calling her "America's absolutely incredible first lady." He went on to hail the bonds between the United States and France, saying: "May our friendship grow even deeper, may our kinship grow even stronger and may our sacred liberty never die."

With 123 attendees, the event was smaller and more intimate than President Barack Obama's dinners. Among those attending were Vice President Mike Pence, Chief Justice John Roberts, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and two Winter Olympians, who flashed their gold medals on their way into the pre-dinner reception.

Guests at Trump's table included Apple CEO Tim Cook and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, the president's nominee for secretary of state, as well as Macron and his wife.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Brigitte Macron, and French President Emmanuel Macron walk down the Grand Staircase to pose for a photo in Grand Foyer before a State Dinner at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

In his toast, Macron talked about the countries' "unbreakable friendship" and referenced both his and Trump's rapid political ascents, saying: "On both sides of the ocean some two years ago, very few would have bet on us being here together today."

While Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser and the president's elder daughter, and Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, wowed in designer gowns, there were no surprise celebrity guests, in contrast with past years.

Asked what she was looking forward to, Linton said: "Everything French!"

The White House stressed that Mrs. Trump, who planned her 2005 wedding, had a hand in every aspect of the social denouement of Macron's visit. She released a brief video showing her working on the details with her staff, including the menu and the table settings.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron wave from the Truman Balcony during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The guests, seated at round candle-lit tables decorated with bouquets of white flowers, dined on rack of lamb and nectarine tart served on a mix of china settings from the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. After-dinner entertainment was courtesy of the Washington National Opera.

Trump's Cabinet was well-represented at the dinner. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen were there, along with Mnuchin and Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, and new top economic adviser Larry Kudlow. Others were absent, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has been under scrutiny over ethical questions.

And while it was an evening of celebration, Trump aides couldn't fully escape questions about the tumult within the administration, with many dodging questions about his pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, who is facing questions about improper workplace behavior.

French President Emmanuel Macron kisses the hand of first lady Melania Trump during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Earlier Tuesday, Mrs. Trump wore a stylish belted suit with a broad-brimmed chapeau for her public appearances, including on a brief outing to the National Gallery of Art with Mrs. Macron to view an exhibit of works by French painter Paul Cezanne.

The hat stayed put as she returned to the White House and took her front-row seat in the East Room for the president's joint news conference with Macron. It bobbed up and down across the bottom of television screens as she entered the room and again as she rose to leave, spawning many a Twitter meme.

The hat was designed by Herve Pierre and the skirt suit was by Michael Kors.

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, watch as President Donald Trump kisses first lady Melania Trump during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)