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It’s quite an honor but it’s reserved for the people least likely to feel honored or, well, least likely to feel anything at all
A Republican congressman wants to create a new $250 U.S. dollar bill featuring Donald Trump’s face, but the proposal faces an immediate roadblock.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, on Tuesday said that he was drafting legislation to “direct the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring Donald J. Trump.”
The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing — or BEP, which operates within the U.S. Department of Treasury — designs and prints paper U.S. currency. U.S. Mint handles the coins.
“Most valuable bill for most valuable President!” Wilson wrote on X, sharing a seemingly AI-generated image of a $250 bill with Trump’s face.
Despite Wilson’s enthusiasm, U.S. Code prohibits living people from appearing on currency.
“Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities,” reads U.S. Code Title 31 —”Money and Finance” — section 5114.
The U.S. Mint follows a similar policy for coins. Efforts to put a president on a coin can begin two years after a president’s death.
“No coin issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President,” reads U.S. Code 31 — “Denominations, specifications, and design of coins” — section 5112.
It would take more than a simple bill in Congress to create a new banknote, as even redesigns of currency involve five different government agencies — the Treasury, the BEP, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve System and the U.S. Secret Service. Security is the primary purpose for redesigns, according to the BEP.