Controversy over proposal for $250 bill featuring Trump’s face

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\r\n[Financial News] The Donald Trump administration in the United States is reportedly moving to issue a $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump’s face to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. The controversy is growing as reports say the administration has pushed for draft designs despite a law that bars portraits of living people from appearing on currency.
The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 28th, local time, that Brandon Beach, Treasurer of the United States, and other administration officials have been pressuring the United States Mint to prepare a draft design for a $250 bill with President Donald Trump’s portrait.
According to four current and former employees familiar with the matter, Beach personally provided a draft design for the bill. The design reportedly places President Donald Trump’s face in the center of the $250 bill, with the signatures of President Donald Trump and finance minister Scott Bessent on either side. Ian Alexander, the British artist who created the draft, said he discussed the details directly with President Donald Trump. He explained that Trump later gave final approval after revising parts of the design, including the addition of a logo for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
However, under current United States law, only portraits of deceased individuals may appear on currency, and the proposal is said to have faced internal resistance. WP reported that Patricia Solimene, the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who opposed the plan, was transferred to another department last month. Earlier, some Republican Party lawmakers introduced a bill last year that would allow President Donald Trump’s portrait to appear on a $250 bill, but it has made little progress so far.
The Ministry of Finance said that if the bill passes, the United States Mint would actively move forward with producing the $250 bill. A ministry spokesperson, however, drew a line, saying, "We have never asked employees to print the bill before the legislation passes."
Separately, printing is already under way for a new $100 bill bearing President Donald Trump’s signature. The Ministry of Finance has said it is pursuing the inclusion of Trump’s signature on new dollar bills to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. U.S. law does not prohibit the issuance of currency bearing the signature of a sitting president.
Since Trump’s second administration took office, there has also been a growing number of cases in which his name is being attached to federal agencies and policy programs. The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.’s flagship performing arts venue, was recently renamed the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A federal children’s asset-building program is also set to launch officially in July under the name Trump account. Other initiatives include the Trump Gold Card, which would grant permanent residency to those who invest $1 million, or about 1.5 billion won, and a plan to name a new USN vessel a Trump-class battleship.
Some critics say the moves amount to an effort to extend President Donald Trump’s personal brand across the national system and its symbols.
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km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter