Trump administration pushes to design $250 bill with his portrait

Administration officials are pushing to move forward with a $250 bill bearing Donald Trump’s portrait and signature, a proposal that would collide with a 160-year-old ban on living people appearing on U.S. currency. The effort is being cast as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026, giving the design fight both a legal edge and a deep symbolic charge.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., introduced H.R. 1761 on Feb. 27, 2025, directing the Treasury to print $250 Federal reserve notes featuring Donald J. Trump and to amend federal law so a living or deceased president could appear on currency. The bill was sent to the House Committee on Financial Services and remains there. Its text frames the measure as a commemoration of the semiquincentennial, linking the denomination itself to the 250th birthday of the nation.

That proposal runs headlong into current law. Under 31 U.S.C. 5114, only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities. The rule traces to an 1866 restriction passed after Treasury official Spencer Clark put his own portrait on banknotes, prompting Congress to bar living people from U.S. money. If Congress does not change that statute, a Trump $250 bill cannot legally move ahead.

The institutional machinery around the idea is already visible. Treasury announced on March 26, 2026, that Trump’s signature would appear on future U.S. paper currency along with the Treasury secretary’s signature, describing it as the first time a sitting president’s signature would appear on American money. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach backed the move as part of the semiquincentennial, while reporting said Beach and senior adviser Mike Brown pressed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for prototypes and mock-ups. The bureau designs and manufactures U.S. currency, making it the operational center of any redesign.

The proposal has also drawn sharp criticism. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., said the White House should focus on lowering costs instead of “stoking the president’s ego.” Supporters of the idea point to precedent for unusual denominations, including the $100,000 gold certificate printed in 1934 and 1935 for transactions among Federal Reserve banks, though not for ordinary circulation. Even so, a $250 note with a living president’s portrait would break from modern currency convention and, if enacted, would make Trump the first living person on U.S. currency in more than 150 years.