Trump administration pushes Congress to approve $250 bill featuring president's face
Trump administration officials are preparing for a possible new $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump, as allies in Congress push legislation that would allow a living president to appear on US currency.
Federal law currently bans living people from appearing on banknotes, but Republican lawmakers want to create an exception for Trump as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
A spokesperson for the Treasury Department told the BBC the agency 'is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence' in response to the proposal.
The $250 bill, which was introduced last year by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, would need approval from both the House and Senate before becoming law.
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The Washington Post first reported that the Treasury Department had requested draft designs from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the agency responsible for producing US currency.
No designs have been released publicly, but Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary, showed a proposed $250 banknote featuring a photo of Trump that many people have pointed out bears similarities with his 2024 Fulton County jail mugshot.
He revealed the proposed note during a news conference in the White House in Washington on Thursday (28 May).
"Isn't that his mugshot photo?" questioned one X user after seeing the note, as another declared: "President Trump literally used his mugshot for his image on the $250 bill."
And a third echoed: "Is the picture Trump used of himself his felony mug shot?"
The image in the note Bessent was holding actually appears to be Trump's inaugural portrait, which people likened to his mugshot at the time it was released in January 2025.
"Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognise the 250th Anniversary of our great nation," the Treasury spokesperson said.
Bessent added that the decision 'is all in the hands' of Congress and insisted the department would follow the law if the legislation passed.
He also said he did not 'think there’s anything untoward' about putting the sitting president on a commemorative note tied to the anniversary celebrations.
It currently remains unclear whether any new note could be designed, approved and printed in time for the 4th July anniversary celebrations set to take place next month.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner criticised the plans, saying: "As Americans struggle with the rising cost of gas, groceries, housing, and health care, President Trump’s priorities for taxpayer dollars are completely detached from the challenges families face every day."
He added: "If this White House put even half as much energy into working to lower costs as it does into stoking the president’s ego, American families wouldn’t need that new $250 bill just to fill up their gas tanks."
Tyla has reached out to the White House for comment.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Rhiannon Ingle