Plans linked to Donald Trump's allies to mint a £195 ($250) banknote bearing the president's face are colliding head‑on with a little‑known but long‑standing federal rule that may render the idea legally impossible. Pitched as a patriotic centrepiece forAmerica's 250th anniversary, the proposal has already run into quiet but firm resistance inside parts of the US Treasury.
At the centre of the controversy is a statutory restriction that has governed US currency design for more than a century, raising immediate questions about whether the proposal can move beyond the talking stage.
The Trump team's proposal reportedly involves issuing a new £195 ($250) bill featuring Trump's portrait as part of celebrations marking the nation's 250th birthday this year. US Treasurer Brandon Beach and adviser Mike Brown reportedly pushed ahead with plans for a new banknote, circulating mock‑up designs to staff in August and September 2025. The drafts featured Donald Trump's portrait on a $250 bill alongside his and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's signatures.
However, federal law appears to prohibit the depiction of living individuals on US currency directly. The restriction is codified under Law 31 U.S.C. § 5114(b), stemming from the 1866 Thayer Amendment (Act of April 7, 1866).
The provision explicitly states: 'Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities. The name of the individual shall be inscribed below the portrait.'
That requirement has effectively barred living figures from appearing on banknotes since the 19th century, creating a significant legal hurdle for any proposal involving acurrent president. The rule remains one of the most consistently enforced standards in US currency design, limiting political influence over note imagery.
The Trump administration is pressuring the Treasury Department to print a $250 bill with Trump's face on it.The director of the Printing Bureau was ousted after citing a law that no living person can appear on U.S. currency.pic.twitter.com/voczVnj85x
This is ILLEGAL.Under 31 U.S.C. § 5114(b) (which codified the 1866 Thayer Amendment), only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.
Resistance to the proposal reportedly surfaced within the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where Director Patricia Solimene raised concerns about legal and procedural obstacles to producing a new denomination.
'She had told them we're not authorized to do this. We can't progress any further, and all the stakeholders have not even met to discuss the next steps,' a source toldThe Washington Post. 'Currency often takes six to eight years to produce a new bill, particularly one of such high value.'
Source: International Business Times UK
