Trump's Face on the $250 Bill Is Illegal. Here's Why the Treasury Is Doing It Anyway.

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]You may have seen this. No, it's not fake. This is a real mock-up of a $250 bill featuring President Trump's face.

[00:00:07]Now, this bill would be illegal to produce as currency in the United States today. But, the Treasury Department says they're preparing for it anyway, just in case.

[00:00:18]>> At present, the no living person can be on US currency, and the currency must say "In God We Trust."

[00:00:26]So, right now there is proposed legislation that in front of the house and front of the Senate to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, could be on the $250 bill. So, it it it's all in in the hands of the It's It's all in up on Capitol Hill. So, and and [laughter] and and at Treasury, we prepare things in advance, so we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but we will stick to the law.

[00:00:57]>> So, what legislation is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talking about?

[00:01:01]This one, the Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act. It was introduced by Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, in late February. The bill is pretty short, and it does two things.

[00:01:10]One, it amends the current law dating back to 1866, which forbids the portraits of living people from appearing on US currency, and instead allows individuals who have served as president to appear on currency. And two, it amends the 1913 Federal Reserve Act and orders the Treasury Department to print bill featuring Trump's face no later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the bill. When he introduced this bill, Representative Wilson said it was necessary because President Trump is working tirelessly to fight inflation and help American families. This achievement is deserving of currency recognition, which is why I am grateful to introduce this legislation, the most valuable bill for the most valuable president. And Secretary Bessent agreed today. He basically said there's nothing wrong with putting Trump's face on a bill.

[00:01:59]>> And I I don't think that the uh there's anything untoward about having the President of the United States that the person who was President of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill.

[00:02:10]>> So, is this going to happen? Are we going to see $250 bills with Trump's face floating around as currency in this country?

[00:02:18]Seems unlikely. Right now, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. If it was ever to make it to the floor of the House for an actual vote, it would have to go through a lengthy committee process, which includes the Democrats who sit on the committee. And then it would have to pass out of that committee, and then it would have to get on the House floor schedule, and then it would need to pass the House, and if it does and doesn't get rolled up into another bill, it would probably need 60 votes in the Senate, which means Democrats would also have to vote yes, which is very unlikely. And on top of that, as I always say, the closer we get to an election, the less likely it is that Congress would agree to pass anything, let alone something that is controversial like this. So, on top of that, there's also a timing issue that may either slow this whole process down or stop it altogether. So, if you want to see the Donald J. Trump $250 bill act for yourself, I'm going to email it out to you tonight in my FaxHQ email, which of course is free. So, make sure you sign yourself up.