Story perspectives

Treasury Prepares $250 Trump Note Despite Living-Person Ban

5/30/2026

Summary

Trump $250 Note

The U.S. Treasury is preparing a $250 note that would feature President Donald Trump.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the plan on May 28, 2026, and said the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has completed a design, despite the law barring living persons from currency.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act in February 2025, which stalled in the Financial Services Committee.

Summary

Brown Pushes

Acting director Mike Brown kept pushing $250 note prototypes after Patricia Solimene left the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) in late April.
Solimene warned production would take six to eight years, and former BEP chief Larry R. Felix said the note lacks statutory authorization without Congress.
Employees called the push unrealistic, a breach of bureau values, and noted no stakeholder meetings despite required security testing and ATM integration.

History

Historical Context

In 1857 Congress repealed the legal-tender status of foreign coins, a move that began federal monopoly over U.S. money. During the Civil War, the 1864 Coinage Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln and Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, introduced bronze cents and two-cent pieces, cementing congressional control of currency design. That precedent underlies today’s debate over lifting the 1862 portrait prohibition.

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Trump $250 Note

The U.S. Treasury is preparing a $250 note that would feature President Donald Trump.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the plan on May 28, 2026, and said the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has completed a design, despite the law barring living persons from currency.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act in February 2025, which stalled in the Financial Services Committee.

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