Trump on US dollar? Treasury officials mull putting 47th President on $250 bills

Washington: The US may have a USD 250 currency note featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump if administration officials succeed in getting a Congressional nod for the move, according to a media report on Thursday.

The development comes little over two months after it was announced that Trump will feature on a gold coin to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary.

On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that US Treasurer Brandon Beach and his senior adviser Mike Brown urged the staff at the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) to prepare prototypes of the USD 250 note.

According to the US federal law, only deceased persons can be featured on currency notes. The US Congress will have to pass a new law to allow Trump's portrait to feature on a currency note.

As part of the effort, Beach provided bureau staff with mock-up designs for the note in August and September. One design showed Trump's face in the centre of the USD 250 note between the signatures of the president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, The Post reported, quoting Treasury Department employees.

The artist who designed the mock-up told The Post that he had spoken with Trump about it.

British painter Iain Alexander said Trump endorsed changes to his original design, such as adding the colours of the American flag and a logo commemorating the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.

No living person has appeared on US currency since 1866, when it was outlawed after the image of a mid-level Treasury bureaucrat featured on a five-cent note.

A draft law allowing Trump to appear on a USD 250 note was introduced in Congress last year to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary.

In a statement to The Post, a Treasury Department spokesperson said the printing office "is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence" in response to the proposed legislation.

"Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a USD 250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognise the 250th Anniversary of our great nation," the statement said.

The effort to print a USD 250 note coincides with the Trump administration's plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding starting this July.

Trump has proposed building a 250-foot triumphal arch at the foot of Arlington National Cemetery and a "Garden of Heroes" in Washington featuring 250 statues.

Trump is all set to feature on a gold coin to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary even as questions remained over the legality of the move.

The 24-karat gold coin, portraying Trump leaning on the Resolute desk with clenched fists, will be only the second time a living president has featured on a coin.

Earlier, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th US President had featured on a commemorative coin alongside George Washington that were minted in 1926 to celebrate 150 years of the US Independence.

The US Commission on Fine Arts, at its meeting on March 19, approved the design of the commemorative gold coin, which will be minted once the final dimensions are decided.

On March 26, the US Treasury announced that Trump's signature is set to feature on the US paper currency soon, a first for a sitting president since the introduction of dollar bills in 1861.

The decision, too, coincided with the 250th anniversary celebrations of American Independence this year, it said.