Washington Post: The Trump administration is seeking to issue a $250 bill bearing his image

The administration of US President Donald Trump is seeking to print a $250 bill bearing his image, which would be the first to feature a living person in more than 150 years, according to the Washington Post.

This project is part of a series of decisions aimed at putting Trump’s stamp on many buildings and symbols in the United States, which has sparked accusations of personality cults.

The Washington Post conducted interviews with current and former employees of the engraving and printing office of the agency responsible for the national currency.

They were quoted, without being named, as saying that there were repeated orders to this effect from senior political officials in the Treasury Department, particularly Treasury Secretary Brandon Beech and his senior adviser Mike Brown.

“Currently, there is a bill before the House and Senate to change the first requirement so that the image of a living person, Donald J. Trump, can be on a $250 bill,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a press conference Thursday.

He added, “I don’t think there’s anything undesirable about having the President of the United States, the person who is the President of the United States, on the banknote that will be issued for the 250th anniversary of independence”.

He noted that the Treasury Department had made advance preparations in case the text was passed, but stressed that “we will abide by the law”.

British artist Ian Alexander told the Washington Post that Trump had agreed to proposals including adding the colors of the American flag and a logo commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

The image of a living person on a banknote has been banned since 1866, when a mid-level Treasury official appeared on a five-cent note, according to the Washington Post.

A bill that would allow Donald Trump to implement his plan was introduced to Congress in 2025 as part of the anniversary celebrations, which include many events in June and July, but it wasn’t passed.

A Treasury spokesperson confirmed that the printing department was carrying out the necessary preparations and checks.

According to the Washington Post, the director of the engraving and printing office, Patricia Suleiman, resisted the authorities’ wishes by raising legal questions and asserting that such a project would take years, however, the Treasury Department cut it off at the end of April.

Last March, Suleiman was forced to authorize Trump’s signature to be placed on future $100 bills, a first for a sitting US president.

Since 1861, only the signatures of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Treasury have appeared on American banknotes.