President Donald Trump has spent much of his second term in office working to leave his mark on Washington, DC. He’s draped enormous banners of his face over government buildings, plastered his name onto the Carrara walls of the Kennedy Center, and covered the White House in gold accents while demolishing the East Wing to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Now the Trump administration is taking another unprecedented step toward brand ubiquity: The Treasury Department plans to add the president’s signature to US currency.
Trump’s autograph will be added to all denominations of US bills, Vanity Fair has learned. The process of developing new printing plates is underway, I’m told, and the new bills will go into circulation in the coming months.
The measure is not temporary: Trump’s name will appear on bills until a future administration decides to take it off.
This will be the first time in US history that the sitting president’s signature appears on American currency. US bills typically feature the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the US treasurer. Trump’s signature will replace that of the latter official, Brandon Beach, and sit alongside Scott Bessent’s.
“As the 250th anniversary of our great nation approaches, American currency will continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people under President Trump’s leadership,” Beach said in a statement to Vanity Fair. “The president’s mark on history as the architect of America’s golden age economic revival is undeniable. Printing his signature on the American currency is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.”
And there are other projects underway to add Trump’s mark to America’s money: Last week the Commission of Fine Arts, which consists entirely of members appointed by Trump, approved a 24-karat commemorative gold coin featuring Trump’s likeness in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
This story appears in Party Animals, Aidan McLaughlin’s weekly letter from the back rooms, barstools, and bacchanals of Washington, DC. Vanity Fair subscribers can enjoy it with their subscription. Subscribe here.
