Trump's company sues 'woke' Capital One for canceling his accounts

Erik Larson, Bloomberg News on Mar 7, 2025

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NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s company sued Capital One Financial Corp., accusing it of illegally “de-banking” him for political reasons by abruptly canceling hundreds of accounts for his sprawling real estate business after his first term ended in 2021.

The Trump Organization had been doing business with Capital One for decades and was holding millions of dollars with the bank when Capital One said on March 8 of that year it was cutting ties in three months, according to the lawsuit.

The termination of the accounts “without warning or provocation” led to “considerable financial harm and losses,” interrupting the business’s access to banking services, according to the suit. It was filed Friday in Florida state court and seeks unspecified damages.

A Capital One spokesperson said the bank “has not and does not close customer accounts for political reasons.”

The president and his supporters have long claimed that major banks unfairly discriminate against conservative customers. Trump even raised the point in remarks to Wall Street executives during the recent Davos summit. In a post on the X social media platform Friday, his son Eric Trump warned of more to come.

“This lawsuit, and those that follow, are necessary steps to protect the integrity of American business practices,” he wrote. “We will not stand by while big banks misuse their power to stifle businesses and harm innocent Americans.”

Capital One’s “unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations and Capital One’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views,” the suit says. The 78-year-old billionaire, who returned to the White House after winning the 2024 contest, isn’t a plaintiff in the suit.

The bank’s alleged cutoff of Trump came two months after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol, though it isn’t mentioned in the complaint. At the time, Trump’s company was also being investigated for fraud by New York’s attorney general, who went on to sue the business. Trump, who lost and was ordered to pay $454 million in penalties, has appealed.

Trump’s company is seeking a court order holding that Capital One canceled the accounts in violation of state consumer protection and consumer fraud laws.