Recommendations of the Editorial team
Donald Trump loves money. He also loves to have his name and face immortalized on any piece of federal property that somehow qualifies, from passports to memorials to other presidents to national park passes. It was probably only a matter of time before he tried to put his face on American currency.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the government is pushing the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill with Trump’s likeness. The Post cited four current and former employees who said the request raised concerns because it is illegal to depict living people on banknotes. The Treasury Department even provided a draft of the design, and the artists are said to have consulted Trump about it.
Shortly after Trump took office again last year, Rep. Joe Wilson (Republican of South Carolina) introduced the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act, a bill that would allow the president to appear on banknotes despite his living status. The Treasury Department told the Post it was ready to begin producing the notes. “Should this legislative mandate take effect, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will take a proactive approach and produce a $250 commemorative bill that appropriately honors the 250th anniversary of our great nation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump would be the first here
Although the $250 bill is still outstanding, Trump’s name is expected to appear on banknotes later this year. The Treasury Department announced in March that the president’s signature would appear on U.S. dollar bills, ostensibly as a gesture to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. “There is no more powerful way to honor the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than on U.S. dollar bills bearing his name – and it is only fitting that this historic currency be issued on the Semiquincentennial,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement at the time.
Trump would be the first sitting president to have his name on the dollar. The last time that a living person actually pictured was in 1866, when a Treasury official appeared on a five-cent note – after which it was banned by law.
Trump’s critics have blasted his administration’s fixation on vanity projects like the new $250 bill as the cost of living crisis continues to worsen.
Clinton’s top
“At the end of Trump’s term, he will have just enough to buy a gallon of gas and a carton of eggs,” Hillary Clinton wrote Thursday about the proposed $250 bill.
