Treasury Gets Ready to Feature Trump on a $250 Note, Pending Congressional Approval

(SeaPRwire) –   On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the “two mandates for U.S. currency, at present,” are that “no living person can be on U.S. currency, and the currency must say ‘In God We Trust.'”

However, the first mandate could soon be eliminated to pave the way for President Donald Trump to be featured on a commemorative $250 bill. This would necessitate a legal change, which the Republican-controlled Congress is said to be weighing ahead of the U.S. Semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R, S.C.) introduced the ‘Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act’ last year, and it was referred to the House Financial Services Committee. Bessent noted at a White House briefing that if this legislation—which a GOP aide informed NBC News has been cleared for a committee hearing—becomes law, it would “change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, could be on a $250 bill.” He added that the Treasury Department has started preparatory work for that potential outcome.

The Washington Post, which first broke the news of the Treasury’s preparations, acquired a mock-up of the bill’s design. It seems to be modeled on one of Trump’s presidential portraits, where he has a stern expression. Rep. Andy Barr (R, Ky.) had earlier suggested a similar design for a $250 note, incorporating the same portrait and signature of Trump along with American flag colors. Last month, the State Department revealed limited edition commemorative passports featuring the identical portrait and signature.

Trump would join a very small group of individuals to appear on U.S. currency during their lifetime. Previous examples included former Treasury Secretaries, before Congress outlawed the practice in the 1800s. This departure from tradition has drawn criticism for seemingly elevating Trump to a monarchical status. Other concerns have been voiced about the message sent by such commemorative currency during a worsening affordability crisis, aggravated by economic and energy disruptions linked to the war involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

Bessent justified the Treasury’s advance work, stating that marking the nation’s 250th independence anniversary is “bifurcated” from wider economic issues.

“I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the President of the United States, the person who was President of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill,” Bessent said to reporters.

The Trump Administration has scheduled a series of other events for the semiquincentennial festivities, including an all-day prayer event this month intended to “rededicate America as one nation under God.” On Wednesday, the officially nonpartisan nonprofit organizing group Freedom 250 announced a lineup of artists for the celebrations. This prompted backlash from several performers, with some pulling out due to worries the event is “politically charged.”

Changing the law

The proposed legislation would modify the Federal Reserve Act to permit a living person to appear on currency “if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.”

Very few individuals have been depicted on U.S. currency while alive, most before standards for paper money were set, such as the Thayer Amendment of 1866. That amendment banned the image of Spencer M. Clark, the first superintendent of the National Currency Bureau in the 1860s, from a 5-cent fractional note.

Wilson’s office said in a February 2025 press release that the proposed bill would “symbolically recognize the President of the United States during the Semiquincentennial anniversary,” calling it “The most valuable bill for the most valuable President!”

The legislation must still overcome several obstacles. It was sent to the House Financial Services Committee last February and has been there ever since. A Wilson spokesperson told NBC News that Wilson has discussed advancing the bill several times with Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. French Hill (R, Ark.). Should the committee approve it, the measure would then require passage by the full House and Senate before President Trump could sign it into law.

According to the Post, a Treasury Department spokesperson said the Bureau of Engraving and Printing “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” and “moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note” in the event the bill is enacted. TIME has contacted the Treasury Department for comment.

The commemorative note is not the Trump Administration’s sole initiative to imprint Trump’s legacy on U.S. currency.

The President is also scheduled to appear on several coins, including a commemorative 24-karat gold coin and a circulating $1 coin. In March, the design for the gold coin received unanimous approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump this year.

Despite objections, including from some members of the federal advisory panel, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, the Trump Administration has pointed to two statutes as legal grounds for minting the coins. Section 5112 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code allows the Treasury Secretary to determine, “from time to time,” the “specifications, designs, varieties, quantities, denominations and inscriptions” for certain gold coins. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 also temporarily authorizes the Treasury Secretary to produce $1 coins in 2026 “with designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial.” Furthermore, the Treasury announced in March that it will include Trump’s signature on paper currency—a first for a sitting President. Treasurer Brandon Beach stated then that the design honored the country’s semiquincentennial.