Treasury Department confirms it has taken limited steps toward a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump

The U.S. Treasury Department is taking steps to create a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump, anticipating passage of stalled legislation from Congress to put the President on a new legal tender, according to an agency spokesman.

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), would instruct the department’s engraving and printing bureau to put Trump’s face on new bill to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

If passed by Trump and signed into law, it would represent extraordinary recognition for a sitting US leader and comes as Trump seeks to place himself at the center of the country’s birthday celebrations. The department’s preparations for the weakened legislation suggest the Trump administration has some enthusiasm for the idea.

The agency’s statement follows a Washington Post report that Trump-appointed US Treasury Secretary Brandon Beach pressured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to speed up the process for a new banknote. The newspaper also reported that the former BEP chief was reappointed after stepping back.

“In response to active legislation sponsored by Rep. Joe Wilson, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence,” the spokesman said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Should this legislative mandate become law, BEP is acting proactively to prepare a $250 commemorative note that will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation.”

Wilson’s so-far languishing legislation aims to create the new high-denomination note as a tribute to Trump as the country marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The measure would override existing law that bans living people from owning U.S. currency.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose office includes the printing office, is scheduled to appear at the White House on Thursday afternoon and may be asked to address the issue.

Beach did not respond to AP’s request for comment.

Beach provided a design for the new bill to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing last fall, the Post reported. It featured Trump’s portrait (the same one hung on banners adorning some federal buildings in Washington) and the 250th anniversary logo. Trump’s signature was also included, a design element that will differentiate it from other notes.

British artist Iain Alexander told the Post that he designed the bill and discussed it with the president. Alexander did not respond to AP’s request for comment.

The newspaper also reported that printing press manager Patricia Solimene resisted pressure from Beach and his chief deputy, Mike Brown, and emphasized to them the lengthy legal and procedural process required to issue new currency. Solimene was reappointed against his will, and Brown assumed de facto leadership of the bureau, the Post reported.

A Treasury spokesman did not respond to AP questions about any leadership changes at the bureau.

A new banknote 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 have already facilitated approval of a 250th anniversary commemorative coin featuring Trump. The Treasury Department argued that these special coins fell outside the ban on legal tender for living presidents. In 1926, on the nation’s 150th anniversary, then-President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a commemorative half-dollar coin.

The Trump administration hung banners with his portrait at the Justice Department and other federal buildings. And the list of nominees appointed to the Kennedy Center board added his name to the national performing arts facility that Congress originally designated as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. The renaming is being challenged in court because of federal law that makes the center an official monument to the 35th president. United States currency bears the words “In God We Trust” wherever the Secretary determines is appropriate. Only a portrait of a deceased person may appear on United States currency and securities. The person’s name will be written under the portrait.

Federal law currently states that only a portrait of a deceased person may appear on United States currency and securities.

Wilson’s bill would also add the following exception: “Except if the individual is or has been President of the United States.”

___

Barrow reported from Atlanta.