Bessent Confirms Plans For Putting Trump On $250 Bill

BreakingBusinessBessent Confirms Plans For Putting Trump On $250 BillBySara Dorn,Forbes Staff. Sara Dorn is a Forbes news reporter who covers politics.Follow AuthorMay 28, 2026, 03:16pm EDTToplineTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the agency is taking steps to print President Donald Trump’s face on a new $250 bill—an unprecedented move that would require Congress to authorize an exception to U.S. law prohibiting a living person’s face from being printed on U.S. currency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds up a copy of a Washington Post article featuring a proposed $250 bill with U.S. President Donald Trump's portrait during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Getty ImagesKey FactsBessent described the effort as a preparatory measure in case legislation that would allow Trump’s face to be printed on the bill passes Congress, downplaying a Washington Post report earlier in the day that the Treasury Department has put pressure on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to make mock-ups of the bill. Bessent said, “I don’t really understand this Washington Post article . . . terribly written, terribly edited. Basically what it says is Treasury is following the law and that we’ve created the bill and that it’s up to Congress . . . I didn’t really understand what the story was.”“We prepare for everything if it gets passed,” Bessent said. There’s no sign Congress will take up such legislation any time soon—a bill was introduced in February last year by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., but it’s been stalled in committee since.This is a developing story and will be updated.Got a tip? Share confidential information with Forbes.Editorial StandardsReprints & PermissionsLOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED Video