President Donald Trump posted a new image Friday of a $100 bill bearing his signature, months after the Treasury Department announced that, for the first time, a sitting president’s signature would be featured on US paper currency.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in March that the administration planned to feature Trump’s signature on US currency in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States. CNN has reached out to Treasury inquiring whether the $100 bills with Trump’s signature are currently being printed.
The image shows the president’s signature above Bessent’s. Previously, the $100 bill featured the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer of the United States, but not the sitting president.
“The President’s mark on history as the architect of America’s Golden Age economic revival is undeniable. Printing his signature on the American currency is not only appropriate, but also well deserved,” US Treasurer Brandon Beach said in the March announcement.
Trump has made it a passion project to get his name and likeness on a wide-ranging array of US documents and landmarks. His administration also has put his image, name or both on a commemorative US passport, national parks passes, banners outside various agencies in DC, cultural institutions like the US Institute of Peace and special investment accounts for babies. Florida also renamed the Palm Beach International Airport after him.
Some in Congress have wanted to go a step further and put Trump’s likeness on currency, introducing a bill to get his portrait on a $250 anniversary bill. That outcome is far less likely, given it would need the support of Democratic senators in Congress. US code states that “Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities,” but the House bill seeks to “create an exception for individuals who are or were President of the United States.”
Earlier this year, staff at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing were preparing prototypes for the $250 bill featuring Trump’s portrait and signature. Bessent told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at a White House press briefing in May that he didn’t think “there’s anything untoward” about putting Trump’s portrait on US currency.
“I don’t think that 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,” Bessent said.
Asked by Collins if political appointees were involved, Bessent responded: “Yeah, of course. But we prepare for everything if it gets passed.”
By BBC News
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