Trump allies want president’s portrait on new $250 bill: Report
Trump administration officials are pushing for a $250 bill with President Donald Trump’s face on it, despite current federal law, which only allows deceased people to appear on bills, according to a new report.
Two Trump administration officials have been urging staff at the Treasury Department to prepare prototypes of the $250 note since last year, according to current employees at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who spoke to The Washington Post.
A new $250 note?
The employees said U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and his senior adviser, Mike Brown, sent mock-up designs of the note in August, including one that has Trump’s face in the center. The note also features Trump’s and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s signatures.
British painter Iain Alexander designed the mock-up and told The Post that he spoke with Trump about it. He said the president approved changes to the original design, including adding the colors of the American flag and a logo to commemorate America’s 250th birthday.
The legalities and timeline of a new note
Despite what Beach and Brown are seeking, the engraving and printing bureau said there are significant roadblocks to creating the bill, including legal and timeline issues.
Four employees told The Post that it would take years to produce the note, and current law doesn’t allow for Trump to be on the front.
Last year, legislation was introduced in Congress that would allow Trump to appear on the bill, but it has since stalled. But a Treasury Department spokesperson said the printing office“is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in connection with the legislation.
That still leaves the bureau in a tough position, however.
“We’re not authorized to do this. We can’t progress any further, and all the stakeholders have not even met to discuss the next steps,” one employee told The Post. “Currency often takes six to eight years to produce a new bill, particularly one of such high value.”
Bureau director reassigned
According to the report, the director of the printing bureau, Patricia Solimene, explained the legal and production constraints to Beach and Brown and was then abruptly reassigned from her role in April. In a letter to her staff, she said the reassignment was not her choice, and she was leaving with a “heavy heart.”
Solimene claims she “never sacrificed the values or character of myself or the organization and always prioritized the U.S. Currency Program and the value each employee brings to the mission.”
“The buck stopped here,” she added.
Since her reassignment, Brown has taken over as the bureau’s acting director.
Trump’s likeness: A common occurrence
In addition to trying to get his image and likeness on the new note, the president has added his name to numerous other official documents and buildings.
Trump’s likeness will be featured on a limited number of U.S. passports in honor of America’s 250th birthday, as Straight Arrow previously reported.
Plus, the federal arts commission approved a 24-karat gold coin featuring Trump, the president renamed the Kennedy Performing Arts Center, adding his name to the front of the building, and the Washington, D.C., building that has long housed the U.S. Institute of Peace now bears a new name: the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
