Overview
- The Washington Post’s Thursday report prompted Treasury to confirm that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is doing planning and due diligence on a possible $250 commemorative note and that a prototype including the president’s signature exists.
- Treasury officials including Treasurer Brandon Beach and adviser Mike Brown pressed BEP staff to develop designs, and employees say BEP Director Patricia Solimene raised legal and timing objections before being reassigned in late April.
- Federal law dating to 1866 bars living people from appearing on U.S. currency, so printing a note with the sitting president would require explicit congressional authorization and a change in statute.
- Even with a law change, experts and former BEP officials say designing and producing a secure new denomination would likely take many years because the work requires coordination with the Federal Reserve, Secret Service and private vendors.
- Related America250 moves are already advancing — including $100 notes bearing the president’s signature and commemorative coins and passport designs — which has intensified partisan debate over the personalization of federal symbols and possible legal challenges.