United States (US) President Donald Trump could soon find his face on a new $250 bill, in what would mark the first time in over 150 years that a living person has appeared on American currency.
An American news outlet reported on Thursday that a design mock-up for the bill features Trump alongside the words “America 250 anniversary,” a reference to the United States declaring independence on July 4, 1776.
Two Trump appointees at the Treasury Department began pushing staff at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing last year to prepare prototypes for the note, the report said.
Bureau employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposal raised concerns as it would run against a federal law that bars depictions of living presidents on US currency.
Patricia Solimene, the printing bureau’s director, had pushed back against the move, flagging legal and procedural hurdles to officials including US Treasurer Brandon Beach. She was later reassigned from her post.
A Treasury spokesperson told the Post that the printing office “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in response to the proposed legislation.
Legislation to allow Trump’s image on the bill was introduced in Congress last year but has not moved forward since.
The push is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to attach his name or likeness to institutions and public-facing items. The John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the US Institute of Peace have both been rebranded under his name in recent months.
His image also hangs on banners outside the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture and the State Department has said it will appear in some US passports.
Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat on the Senate banking committee, stated that the proposal was the White House blatantly “stoking the president’s ego”.
