- A $250 bill design featuring Donald Trump is prepared but cannot be printed without congressional approval.
- Current laws restrict living people from being featured on currency.
- Legislation to allow Trump to be featured on a $250 bill has be introduced in Congress.
The U.S. Treasury Department has prepared a design for a $250 bill featuring an image of President Donald Trump, but it is up to Congress whether the bill is ever printed.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that a design has been prepared but it cannot become legal currency unless a piece of stalled legislation is passed in Congress, per The Associated Press.
Bessent said that authorizing the new bill will be up to lawmakers, but that they have created the bill because “we have to be prepared.” The secretary said that there is nothing inappropriate about Trump’s image being on currency as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations. He downplayed the idea that the matter is being pushed forward by the administration.
“The president doesn’t do it; the House and the Senate have to do it,” Bessent said at the White House.
Bessent referred to legislation, introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., that would direct the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to put Trump on the new $250 bill as part of the America250 celebrations, per the AP.
Iain Alexander, a British artist, told The Washington Post that he designed the bill and that he discussed it with the president.
Allowing a living person to be featured on U.S. currency
Currently, federal law prohibits a living person from being featured on U.S. currency. The legislation from Wilson would change that law and allow Trump’s image to appear on currency.
The current law states that “only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.” Wilson’s legislation would amend the Federal Reserve Act and require the Treasury to print $250 bills that “feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump.”
“So we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed. But we will stick to the law,” Bessent added, per CBS News.
If the bill is passed and signed into law, it would be an extraordinary recognition for the current president, who has worked to put himself in the center of this year’s semiquincentennial commemorations.
The “Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act” was introduced in Congress in February 2025. It was immediately referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, and there have been no actions since then, per CBS News.
Bessent confirmed that the legislation is designed for one specific person: “Donald J. Trump,” he said, per the AP.
Bessent’s comments on Thursday follow a report from The Washington Post that U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach has been pushing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to expedite the process for printing a new currency note. It was also reported that Patricia Solimene, the former BEP chief, was reassigned after pushing back.
Objections to the potential new $250 bill
Multiple Democratic lawmakers have posted on X, stating their opposition to potential new currency featuring an image of Trump.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., posted on X, saying, “Hard No on a Trump $250 bill.”
“The upcoming July 4th anniversary is not about a wannabe King. It’s about celebrating the American journey,” he added.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also posted in opposition to the $250 bill.
“Ridiculous,” she wrote. “So many Americans can barely even afford a $250 emergency.”