If lawmakers get their way, President Donald Trump’s face will be on a special piece of legal tender to celebrate America’s quarter-millennial anniversary — and, as with all things Trump-related, it’ll be yuge.
A bill introduced by GOP Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and cosponsored by 13 other Republicans would put Trump’s face on a $250 bill minted in 2026 for America’s 250th birthday.
And, while the legislation was initially introduced in February without much movement on it recently, both the co-sponsors and the president himself are giving H.R. 1761 — the “Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act” — a renewed push in the media.
The bill states “that $250 bills with the portrait of Donald J. Trump be printed to commemorate the semiquincentennial of the United States” and that existing federal code be altered, so that living presidents can be so honored.
The operative law in question is 31 U.S. Code § 5114, which states that: “Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.”
H.R. 1761 would change that. Per the language of the proposed legislation:
Section 5114(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking “securities.” and inserting “securities, except if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.”
The bill was introduced on the Feb. 27 and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, where it might linger and die on the vine — were it not for Republicans determined to get the bill through Congress, or at least keep it in the limelight.
In a Sept. 26 piece for The Washington Reporter, GOP Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky described why he was “leading legislation to put Trump on a new $250 bill.”
“This proposal is more than symbolic. It is a tribute to a president who has reshaped America in historic ways. President Trump has revolutionized American politics, delivered the largest working families tax cut in American history, and is cleaning up the biggest mess on our southern border ever,” Barr wrote.
This included strict border enforcement and deportation policies on the domestic front, having “reinvigorated our military with record recruitment, bolstered our allies’ confidence, and forced our adversaries to respect us again” on the foreign policy front, and having done quite a bit more on the economic front:
President Trump’s tax cut in the One Big Beautiful Bill ended federal taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits. He expanded the child tax credit to ease the burden on families and created a “Made in America” manufacturing credit to restore jobs in our heartland. Because of this landmark law, every new child born in America will get a head start with $1,000 in Trump investment accounts to grow and support their American Dream, whether it be owning a business, going to college, or furthering their careers with technical training.
“As the 250th anniversary approaches, let us unite around a bold symbol of that renewal. Let us honor the president who has made America great again,” Barr wrote.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Trump posted the Op-Ed from his Truth Social account, giving it a broader audience.
The move would make Trump the face on the highest denomination printed by the U.S. government at present; while larger bank notes were printed in the past, the current lineup includes $1 (George Washington), $2 (Thomas Jefferson, his face fittingly adorning a bill as weird as he was), $5 (Abraham Lincoln), $10 (Alexander “My Shot” Hamilton), $20 (Andrew Jackson), $50 (Ulysses S. Grant), and $100 (all about the Benjamin Franklin, as a certain very disgraced rapper might have put it).
Why not go a bit bigger? Given that Bidenflation has made larger denominations necessary, one might argue his face would be a reminder of how we got there. However, America’s 250th should be yuge, and its yugest presidential personality deserves the honor. Plus, autopens rarely make for great portraiture.
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