The Treasury Department is reportedly preparing designs for a potential $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump, despite existing laws prohibiting living presidents from appearing on U.S. currency.
Current legislation bars any living president from being featured on American money, but the administration is said to be making preliminary preparations in case Congress approves a bill authorizing the special note.
“It’s all in the hands of Capitol Hill,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a White House briefing on Thursday. “We prepared things in advance, but we will stick to the law.”
Bessent added that he did not see anything inappropriate about featuring the president who served during the nation’s 250th anniversary on a commemorative bill.
Last year, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced legislation that would require the Treasury Department to print $250 notes bearing Trump’s portrait. However, the bill has yet to advance in Congress.
According to The Washington Post, two Trump political appointees reportedly pushed for draft designs of the proposed $250 note, including mock-ups featuring the president’s likeness.
If Congress amends the law, Trump would become the first living person to appear on U.S. currency since 1866.
Earlier this year, the Treasury Department also announced that Trump’s signature would appear on all newly printed money, replacing the traditional signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer.
