WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is pushing for a special $250 bill featuring President Trump for America’s 250th anniversary.
However, a statutory roadblock stands in the way.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a $1, $5, $10, $20 or $100 bill. Most notable figures seen on today’s iteration of U.S. currency, like George Washington, were placed on their respective notes after they died. Congress outlawed images of living people on U.S. currency in 1866.
But as the nation approaches its semiquincentennial milestone, that law could change, or a special exception may soon be granted, for none other than President Donald Trump.
“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,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a White House briefing last week.
But for that to happen, some statutory hurdles have to be cleared.
“At present, no living person can be on U.S. currency, and the currency must say ‘In God We Trust.’ So right now, there is proposed legislation in front of the House, in front of the Senate to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, could be on the $250 bill,” Bessent said. “It’s all up on Capitol Hill. We have prepared in advance- if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law.”
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., is among the lawmakers cosponsoring the “Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act,” legislation introduced in early 2025. The measure was referred to the House Financial Services Committee but has yet to advance.
In the past, the United States printed $500, $1,000, $5,000 and even $10,000 bills, used primarily for large financial transactions before the digital banking era. The last of those oversized denominations rolled off the printing presses in 1945. Roughly 20 years later, federal officials pulled them from circulation because they were rarely used.
Today, the $100 bill remains the largest denomination produced by the U.S. government. The last time Americans could carry bills larger than $100, Richard Nixon was president, people were watching the moon landing and online banking didn’t exist. If Congress gives the green light to Trump’s $250 bill, it would be the first U.S. currency denomination above $100 issued since July 1969.
