Trump's Treasury appointees are pressing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring the president's own portrait, according to four current and former employees who spoke to The Washington Post. The plan requires breaking a 160-year-old federal ban on living people appearing on U.S. currency, and creating a denomination that does not exist in statute.
What the Treasury Is Pushing
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach is among the political appointees urging bureau officials to move forward with the design. The proposed note features a stern portrait of Donald Trump, the "250" logo, and the president's signature. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is on record as supporting the move.
The Treasury Department confirmed it has taken "limited steps" toward the bill while insisting no taxpayer dollars would be used, citing that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing finances its operations through product sales rather than congressional appropriations.
View on X: Rep. Joe Wilson introduces the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act, February 2025
"Based on the recommendation of U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, Secretary Bessent will recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Trump by adding his signature to the currency."
Two Laws It Would Break
The proposal runs into not one but two statutes. A federal law enacted in 1866 explicitly bans the portrait of any living person from appearing on U.S. currency, bonds, or securities. Congress passed the prohibition after a Treasury official named Spencer Clark placed his own likeness on a 5-cent note and caused a public uproar. The statute reads plainly: only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.
The second problem is the denomination itself. Current U.S. code specifies the denominations of Federal Reserve notes: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and higher. A $250 bill does not appear in that list. Congress would have to amend both statutes before the Treasury could legally print a single note.
The Bill That Went Nowhere in Congress
In February 2025, Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced the "Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act", directing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design and print the new denomination. The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services and has seen no action since. Representative Andy Barr of Kentucky posed with a giant replica of the proposed note alongside Treasurer Beach, providing the visual marketing before any law authorized the idea.
Without legislation, the Treasury cannot legally produce the bill. The administration is pressing bureau employees to begin design work on a denomination with no legal basis and a portrait-on-currency combination that would require overturning 160 years of federal prohibition.
Treasury officials are doing what the administration does: treating the instruments of government as personal property and marketing materials. The 1866 law was written because someone in power put his own face on the money. A hundred and sixty years later, the denomination has changed. The impulse, the legal obstacle, and the historical precedent have not.
Sources
- Trump $250 Bill Pushed by Treasury Appointees — The Washington Post
- Treasury Pushing Plans for $250 Bill with Trump's Portrait and Signature — ABC News
- Trump Admin Planning to Put President's Image on $250 Bill — CNN
- Treasury Department Confirms Limited Steps Toward $250 Bill — U.S. News
- Why $250 Bills Bearing Trump's Face Are a Tough Legal Sell — Axios
- Trump's $250 Bill Plan Collides with Long-Standing Currency Ban — Newsweek
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