Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended planning for a special $250 note bearing President Donald Trump’s portrait, saying whether a living president may appear on U.S. currency is a matter for Congress.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Bessent addressed a Washington Post report that some administration officials want Trump’s image on commemorative banknotes marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. Federal law going back about 160 years bars living people from appearing on U.S. coins or banknotes, a restriction adopted in part to prevent officials from using currency for self-promotion.
Bessent said he did not view the proposal as improper, but noted the decision would require congressional action. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina has already introduced legislation to permit a Trump portrait on such a note.
“As Treasury Secretary, I have two mandates for U.S. currency,” Bessent said, noting the current rules that prohibit living persons on money and require the motto “In God We Trust.” He added that the proposed commemorative bill is now “all up on Capitol Hill.”
He also defended the Treasury’s preparatory work to produce the note ahead of any change in law, saying the department prepares for many contingencies — drawing a parallel to preparations made before the rollout of the administration’s tax legislation last year. Bessent emphasized the Treasury will follow whatever the law requires.
Bessent was filling in at the briefing while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is on maternity leave, the third senior official to do so recently after Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The proposal revives a longstanding convention and a rare debate over whether living leaders should be memorialized on U.S. currency, leaving the ultimate decision to lawmakers in Congress.