The U.S. Treasury Department is taking steps toward creating a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump, according to an agency spokesperson, anticipating the passage of stalled legislation in Congress to put the president on a new denomination of legal tender.
The legislation, introduced by Representative Joe Wilson, R-S.C., would direct the department’s bureau of engraving and printing to put Trump’s face on the new bill to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
If passed and signed into law by Trump, it would mark an extraordinary recognition for a sitting U.S. leader and comes as Trump has sought to place himself at the center of celebrations marking the country’s birthday. The Department’s preparation for the languishing legislation suggests some enthusiasm for the idea on the part of the Trump administration.
The agency’s explanation follows a Washington Post report stating that U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, a Trump appointee, has been pushing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to expedite the process for a new currency note. The paper also reported that the former BEP chief was reassigned after pushing back.
“In response to active legislation sponsored by Representative Joe Wilson, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence,” the spokeswoman said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation.”
Wilson’s legislation, which so far has languished, is intended to create the new high-denomination note as a tribute to Trump as the nation’s celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The measure would override current law that forbids anyone who is still living from being featured on U.S. currency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose department includes the printing bureau, is scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon at the White House and could be asked to address the matter.
Beach did not respond to an AP request for comment.
According to the Post report, Beach last fall provided the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with a design for the new bill. It featured Trump’s portrait — the same one hung on banners adorning some federal buildings in Washington — and a 250th anniversary logo. Trump’s signature also was included, a design element that would differ from other paper money.
British artist Iain Alexander told the Post he had designed the bill and said he’d discussed it with the president. Alexander did not respond to an AP request for comment.
The newspaper also reported that the director of the printing bureau, Patricia Solimene, resisted pressure from Beach and his top aide Mike Brown and stressed to them the lengthy legal and procedural process required to issue new currency. Solimene has since been reassigned against her will, the Post reported, with Brown effectively assuming leadership of the bureau.
The Treasury spokesperson did not address AP’s questions about any leadership changes at the bureau.
A new currency note would be the latest example of Trump expanding his personal brand in his official capacity since returning to the White House in 2025.
Beach and Bessent already streamlined approval of a commemorative 250th anniversary coin featuring Trump. The Treasury Department has asserted that those special coins fall outside the prohibition on living presidents appearing on legal tender. In 1926, the nation’s 150th anniversary, then-President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a commemorative half-dollar coin.
The Trump administration has had banners featuring his portrait hung on the Department of Justice and other federal buildings. And his slate of appointees to the Kennedy Center governing board added his name to the national performing arts facility that Congress originally designated as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. That renaming is being challenged in court because of the federal law establishing the center as the official memorial to the 35th president. United States currency has the inscription “In God We Trust” in a place the Secretary decides is appropriate. Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities. The name of the individual shall be inscribed below the portrait.
Federal law currently states that Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities
Wilson’s bill would add the exception: “except if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.”
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Barrow reported from Atlanta.
