(Ken Silva, Headline USA) President Donald Trump has an unlikely ally in its fight to stop financial instructions from arbitrarily closing customers’ accounts over their political views—a process known as “de-banking.”
Indeed, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., whom Trump nicknamed “Pocahontas” over her dubious claims to be of Native American heritage, wrote to the White House on Tuesday, offering to work together on de-banking.
“Dear President Trump, I write to request that you take action on preventing the debanking of too many Americans across the country, including consumers unfairly locked out of the financial system due to overdraft fees, religious affiliation, or political beliefs,” Warren wrote to Trump on Tuesday.
Trump has an unlikely ally in its fight to stop “de-banking”: None other than Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who wrote to the President about the matter last night.
“Dear President Trump, I write to request that you take action on preventing the debanking of too many Americans across the… pic.twitter.com/aa80wnVpri— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) February 5, 2025
“You share what appears to be a bipartisan interest in addressing debanking,” Warren added, referencing Trump’s recent comments at the World Economic Forum, where he blasted Bank of America for de-banking conservatives.
“I strongly agree that debanking is a serious issue, and it is unfortunately a practice not confined to Bank of America. My staff has identified thousands of debanking-related complaints lodged by consumers in the last three years alone,” she said, listing four main de-banking culprits: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.
Warren said she’s willing to work with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-SC, to establish clear disclosure rules and appeals processes if an account is closed, and to increase penalties on large banks that unlawfully infringe upon people’s right to a bank account.
“But this effort should not stand in the way of your Administration using all of its available tools to address unfair debanking,” Warren told Trump. “I hope you and your Administration will act quickly to address this problem.”
Warren’s letter to Trump came the night before the Senate Banking Committee’s scheduled hearing on de-banking. Warren and her committee also submitted a memorandum ahead of the hearing that details the problem.
According to the committee memo, 8,056 consumers filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a financial institution for improperly closing checking, savings, or other deposit accounts. In the same period, 3,899 consumers filed complaints related to being “unable to open” a deposit account, the memo said.
The memo listed numerous examples of de-banking from anonymous complainants. Some of the more high-profile examples of de-banking in recent years include Dr. Joseph Mercola’s, whose bank accounts were deactivated by JP Morgan Chase in 2023. Mercola achieved public prominence for his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Additionally, last May journalist Christina Urso, who’s making a documentary about the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor, had her account closed by Bank of America.
Victims of de-banking have noted the irony that financial institutions de-bank political dissidents, but have no problem doing business with notorious criminals such as Jeffrey Epstein. The attorney general for the U.S. Virgin Islands revealed last year that JP Morgan Chase had a relationship with Epstein until mere months before his death in 2019.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.