ICYMI: Conservatives, Free-Market Groups Warn New Durbin-Marshall Amendment Hands More Power to Far-Left AGs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) filed a new version of their flawed credit card mandates as an amendment to crypto market structure legislation. Just days before a markup, they changed their original bill to add a political sweetener in order to gain support from far-left allies like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Rohit Chopra. The new amendment empowers activist state attorneys general to sue American companies.

Conservative and free-market groups were quick to call out this new Durbin-Marshall amendment and are calling on Senators to reject this attempt to enact a government takeover of the U.S. credit card market.

Keep reading below to learn more.

Matthew Foldi – SCOOP: Americans for Tax Reform slams revised credit card bill: “empower left-wing state AGs” (Washington Reporter): “Teaming up with Democrat leadership to impose government price controls on our credit cards was bad enough…But now the bill hands blue state AGs new powers to launch state-run class action lawsuits to harass and intimidate local businesses. No Republican should be handing Keith Ellison and Letitia James more power.” January 26, 2026

Julia Duvall – SCOOP: “A gift to Letitia James”: Conservative groups, credit union leaders come out against revised Credit Card Competition Act (Washington Reporter): “The most consequential change in the latest version of the Credit Card Competition Act amendment in Senate Ag Committee is the decision to hand enforcement authority to state attorneys general. That shift would replace a uniform, federal supervisory framework with a patchwork of 50 different enforcement regimes, inviting costly litigation and regulatory uncertainty rather than clear consumer benefits…This bill was already controversial because it splits up some of the GOP’s strongest supporters, and the new version gives a slush fund gift to Letitia James. Many members are not going to be happy with this.” January 25, 2026

Consumer Action for a Strong Economy – A New Credit Card Power Grab Is Being Slipped into the CLARITY Act Markup—And Consumers Will Pay the Price  (Consumer Action for a Strong Economy): “Instead of moving through the regular legislative process, the revised credit card proposal has been dropped into unrelated legislation as an amendment, limiting transparency and debate. Even more concerning, the substance of the bill has changed in ways that fundamentally alter who holds power—and who bears the consequences. At the center of this rewrite is a dramatic expansion of authority for state attorneys general, particularly those with a record of aggressive, politically motivated enforcement actions…This latest rewrite of the credit card bill is not about helping consumers. It is about expanding government power, empowering activist enforcement, and redistributing value away from cardholders and local financial institutions.” January 24, 2026

Ross Marchand – New Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Amendment Would Break the Bank—and the Courts  (Taxpayers Protection Alliance): “Rather than advancing their proposal through regular order and letting the CCCA be debated on its own merits, the senators have filed an entirely new version of the proposal as an amendment to the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act, commonly known as the Clarity Act—legislation intended to address digital asset market structure. This move should concern all Americans, and all lawmakers. But the substance of the amendment is even more troubling…Credit card mandates coupled with an AG lawsuit bonanza would drastically reduce or eliminate those benefits, while offering no meaningful savings in return. Additionally, fraud rates would dramatically increase as safety investments into payment networks go by the wayside.” January 26, 2026

National Taxpayers Union – Senate Should Reject Federal Intrusion into Credit Card Payment Systems(Thomas Aiello): “we believe that the offered proposal mirroring the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) is not germane to cryptocurrency legislation and would have significant consequences for our economy…Beyond the obvious government overreach into businesses’ affairs, the CCCA will ultimately harm consumers. It will most certainly destroy many benefits and perks that consumers have come to love from their credit cards, and result in several harmful changes, including: higher annual fees, reduced credit access, and fewer cash back rewards.” January 26, 2026