US treasury prepares to print new $250 bill emblazoned with Donald Trump’s face | US News

US Treasury officials are preparing to print a new $250 bill depicting Donald Trump, as Congress considers legislation to allow the US president’s image to be used on legal tender.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that his department designed the bill because “we have to be prepared” in case lawmakers decide to pass the stalled bill.

In the US there are two mandates in place for currency, that no living person can be depicted on bank notes, and they must also say “In God We Trust”, Mr Bessent said.

Legislation to change the requirement that no living person can appear on currency is currently before US Congress.

“At Treasury we prepare things in advance, so we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law,” Mr Bessent said at a White House press briefing.

The new $250 bill comes as the US prepares for celebrations marking 250 years of independence this year.

“I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the president of the United States, the person who was president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill,” Mr Bessent said.

He also downplayed media reports the Trump administration was pushing for the note’s introduction, despite the president’s history of emblazoning his name and likeness on the US capital.

The proposed legislation was referred in February 2025 to the House Financial Services Committee, where it has remained ever since.

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The legislation will need to be approved by the House and Senate before it can be signed into law by Trump.

Should the banknotes be printed, it will not be the way Mr Trump’s presidency would be immortalised on currency.

In another first for a sitting president, the Treasury said in March that it would include Mr Trump’s signature on paper bills.

Outside of official currency, Mr Trump and his allies have also gone to lengths to commemorate his legacy in other areas.

This included affixing his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the US Institute of Peace, and linking it to discount drug programmes, savings accounts and proposed warships.