The US Treasury Department is preparing to print a new $250 banknote that could feature a portrait of President Donald Trump, pending congressional approval.
Federal law currently prohibits printing US currency with the image of a living person, but Trump allies in Congress have introduced legislation seeking to create an exception.
A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the agency “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in response to the proposed legislation.
Lawmakers behind the bill said the $250 denomination would symbolise the country’s 250th anniversary, which falls this year.
Artistic concepts for the note have not been publicly released, but designs have been requested by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, a Treasury sub-agency responsible for developing and producing US currency.
“Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation,” the Treasury spokesperson said.
The legislation was introduced by US House Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, and requires approval from both the House and Senate to become law.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at a White House briefing, said the matter was “all in the hands” of Congress and confirmed his department was preparing in case the legislation passes.
Bessent also said he did not “think there’s anything untoward” about featuring the image of the sitting president on a bill marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The proposed note could also conflict with a separate federal law that specifies permitted currency denominations, a list that does not currently include $250.
US Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who sits on the Senate’s Committee on Banking, strongly criticised the plans in a statement.
“As Americans struggle with the rising cost of gas, groceries, housing, and health care, President Trump’s priorities for taxpayer dollars are completely detached from the challenges families face every day,” Warner said.
“If this White House put even half as much energy into working to lower costs as it does into stoking the president’s ego, American families wouldn’t need that new $250 bill just to fill up their gas tanks,” he added.
The $100 bill, featuring Benjamin Franklin, one of the US founding fathers, is currently the largest denomination in circulation, with larger notes having been discontinued in 1969.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing noted that note designs are “typically made public six to eight months ahead of time for global public education and cash handler education purposes,” warning that earlier disclosure would aid counterfeiters.
It remains unclear whether the notes could be ready in time for the country’s 250th anniversary on 4 July.