Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) touted a Justice Department lawsuit against Visa after previously pushing two government agencies to probe opponents of his credit card bill.
“The Justice Department just sued Visa alleging that the company illegally maintains a monopoly over debit markets. Visa & its duopoly partner Mastercard similarly dominate the credit card market. My Credit Card Competition Act would finally bring competition & lower swipe fees,” Durbin wrote in September.
Visa has disputed the accusations, saying that there are now more payment alternatives to Visa and Mastercard than ever.
“Anyone who has bought something online, or checked out at a store, knows there is an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services,” Julie Rottenberg, the Visa general counsel, said in late September.
There are now many competitors such as Venmo, Zelle, and cryptocurrencies to compete with Visa and Mastercard in the payment services industry.
When reached for comment, Durbin’s office pointed Breitbart News toward a joint statement with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a primary advocate of the Credit Card Competition Act. They said in a joint statement in late September:
According to DOJ’s lawsuit, Visa made exclusive agreements to hinder the expansion of competing networks and blocked efforts by technology companies to enter the market. At a time when hard-working Americans and small business owners are struggling with higher costs of everyday essentials, Visa should not be gaming the system to pad their own pockets.
Visa and its duopoly partner Mastercard similarly dominate the credit card market. One way to bring competition to the market is to pass our bipartisan, bicameral legislation—the Credit Card Competition Act—which would enhance competition between credit card networks and ultimately lower costs for small businesses and consumers. Our bill ensures that the Visa-Mastercard duopoly ends their price gouging tactics that disproportionately hurt American families and small businesses.
However, Durbin, along with Marshall, has moved to weaponize the federal government against opponents of their credit card bill.
Marshall and Durbin pushed the Transportation Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to investigate “troubling reports” of unfair and deceptive practice in airlines’ frequent flyer and loyalty programs. The Transportation Department and CFPB subsequently announced investigations into credit card and airline rewards programs. The two lawmakers cited reports, claiming “airlines are changing point systems in ways that are unfair to consumers, including by devaluing points, meaning it takes more points than initially marketed to achieve the promised rewards.”
If true, Marshall would appear to be working with Durbin to unleash the government against Americans, an accusation he has lobbed at Democrats.
Lobbying the federal government against opponents of their bill did not sell with Capitol Hill Republicans.
A Senate aide told Breitbart News in February:
This entire investigation is happening only because the Durbin credit card bill isn’t passing, so this is his revenge. Durbin and his allies are using the administrative state as a weapon, just like the Biden regime has weaponized every agency against Elon Musk for failing to toe the line.
In late September, former President Donald Trump called for former Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) to be “prosecuted” over her husband’s Visa stock trades ahead of the Justice Department lawsuit against Visa.
“Nancy Pelosi has a little problem because her husband sold their Visa stock – they had a lot of Visa stock – one day before it was announced that Visa is being sued by the Department of Justice,” Trump said.
Conservative organizations have also slammed the Justice Department lawsuit against Visa.
Daniel Savickas, vice president of policy at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, wrote:
Through a last-minute amendment from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to the Dodd-Frank financial reform of 2010, Congress capped fees associated with debit card processing. This, like most government rate controls, ensured only a handful of companies could reasonably comply and survive. The debit card market has been trying to catch up ever since.
“The DOJ should immediately drop this lawsuit that will greatly harm payment innovation and consumer welfare,” Competition Enterprise Institute (CEI) wrote.
The Competition Coalition wrote, “Another day, another meritless lawsuit brought by @JusticeATR. It’s clear the Biden-Garland DOJ knows their time is coming to an end as they ram through more antitrust lawsuits against successful US businesses in the waning months of this Administration.”
Given the facts, Durbin’s tweet supporting DOJ’s lawsuit against Visa while also bolstering his credit card bill raises suspicions about whether the levers of government are once again being used to punish its opponents.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
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