Donald Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to have his signature on US banknotes, the Treasury Department has announced.
Trump’s signature will appear alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, an unprecedented move that the department said was being made to mark America’s 250th anniversary.
“There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than US dollar bills bearing his name,” Bessent said. US banknotes have traditionally carried the signatures of Treasury officials.
It is the latest move by the administration to associate Trump’s name with a range of government programs and public buildings.
The first $100 (£75) bills with the signatures of Trump and Bessent will be printed in June, with others to follow.
Notes currently being printed bear the signatures of former President Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and Treasurer Lynn Malerba.
It has been tradition since 1861 for the US treasurer’s signature to appear on bank notes, a tradition which will end under the Trump administration’s plans.
Ahead of the 250th anniversary, Bessent said printing currency bearing Trump’s name would be a “powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country” and the president.
And current US Treasurer Brandon Beach vowed the country’s currency will “continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people”.
2026 is the 250th anniversary of the formal declaration when 13 states declared their independence from Britain.
Trump faced a public backlash after the White House said the Kennedy Center in Washington DC would be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Several artists cancelled performances after the rebrand and it has since closed for a two-year renovation, scheduled to begin in July.
During his first term in office, President Trump’s name appeared on paper support cheques sent to millions of Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
