Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blasted the media as he defended a legally dubious push to put Donald Trump’s face on a new $250 bill to commemorate America’s birthday.
Filling in for Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday, the former hedge fund manager was confronted with revelations that his own department had begun planning for the proposed banknote—despite longstanding federal laws barring living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
Bessent, who began the briefing by asking reporters to call him “doctor” because he had just received an honorary doctorate, initially tried to pour cold water on the idea, saying it was up to Congress to change the law.
But things took a more combative turn when he was pressed on the plot from within the Treasury Department, first reported by the Washington Post, to turn the $250 Trump note into reality.
Holding up a copy of the Washington Post article, he told reporters in the White House briefing room: “You know, I don’t really understand this Washington Post article.
“Who here is from the Post?” he then asked, before telling them: “Yeah, terribly written, terribly edited.”
“Basically what it says is that Treasury is following the law?” he mused. I didn’t really understand what the story was.”
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins then pointed out that the people involved in preparing the bill were two of his own Treasury appointees.
Asked why this was taking place when Americans were struggling with gas prices and other cost of living pressures, Bessent replied: “We prepare for everything if it gets passed.”
“I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the President of the United States… on a 250th anniversary bill," he added.
The proposal stems from legislation by South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who introduced the “Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act” last year, complete with an AI-generated mock-up of the new note plastered with Trump’s face.
But with America250 celebrations looming, the bill is now one of a growing pile of Trump-themed gestures from Republicans all seemingly competing in an increasingly crowded race to please the president.
Among the other contenders are Texas Rep. Brandon Gill, who introduced the Golden Age Act, which would replace Benjamin Franklin with Trump on the $100 bill; and New York Rep. Claudia Tenney, who’s pushing to make June 14—already Flag Day and Trump’s birthday—a federal holiday known as “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.”
But according to the Washington Post, Trump allies inside Treasury, including U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and senior adviser Mike Brown, have been aggressively pushing the idea behind the scenes for months. Mock-ups reportedly featured Trump’s image alongside both his signature and Bessent’s.
The proposal also triggered turmoil inside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Former director Patricia Solimene allegedly warned officials the agency lacked legal authority to proceed and that producing a new denomination could take years.
She was reassigned in April in a move associates said “was not my choice,” before Brown was installed as acting director.
