US Treasury secretary confirms plans for banknote featuring Trump’s face

play Live Sign upShow navigation menu.css-15ru6p1{font-size:inherit;font-weight:normal;}Navigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionSportVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftDonald TrumpHow Iran war fallout may shape US electionsA visual guide to redistrictingWho is Thomas Massie?Why Spain is standing up to Trumpcaret-rightNews|Donald TrumpUS Treasury secretary confirms plans for banknote featuring Trump’s faceProposed $250 bill would mark the first time a living person has appeared on US currency in more than a century. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds up a printed media article about a possible $250 bill featuring the portrait of US President Donald Trump, during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2026 [Evan Vucci/Reuters]By Adam Hancock, AFP and The Associated PressPublished On 29 May 202629 May 2026US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says preparations are under way to print a new $250 banknote featuring President Donald Trump’s face, with lawmakers to decide whether the bills will be put into circulation. US law bars any living person from appearing on US currency, but legislation was introduced last year to create an exception to allow current and former presidents to be featured. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Bessent said a design had been prepared in anticipation of a change in the law. “Right now, there is proposed legislation – front of the House, in front of the Senate – to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J Trump, could be on a $250 bill,” Bessent said. Bessent made his comments after The Washington Post reported that Treasurer Brandon Beach, a Trump appointee, has been pushing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to expedite the process for a new currency note to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the president of the United States, the person who’s president of the United States, on the 250th anniversary bill,” Bessent told reporters. A design mock-up obtained by The Washington Post showed the words “America 250 anniversary”, a nod to the US declaring its independence on July 4, 1776. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. A banknote featuring Trump’s face would be the latest example of the US president expanding his personal brand in his official capacity since returning to the White House in 2025. Banners featuring Trump’s portrait have been 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, which Congress originally designated as a memorial to assassinated President John F Kennedy. Trump’s signature is also set to appear on US currency as part of plans to mark the 250th anniversary, a first for a sitting president. US banknotes have until now featured the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer. In March, the US Commission of Fine Arts, led by Trump appointee Rodney Mims Cook Jr, approved the minting of a commemorative gold coin bearing the Republican president’s image. The announcement, which relied on a legal loophole for commemorative coins, prompted a backlash from critics, who likened the move to the behaviour of dictators and monarchs. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: