Political appointees in President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department have reportedly pushed for the production of a $250 bill bearing the president’s face amid America’s semiquincentennial anniversary year.

Four anonymous current and former employees told The Washington Post that Bureau of Engraving and Printing staff members have been told to draft prototypes of the bill. The sources alleged concerns emerged due to federal law only allowing deceased individuals to appear on bils. Former director of the bureau Larry R. Felix told the Post that a $250 bill cannot be legally produced without the approval of Congress, saying, “The secretary has to be given authority to do that.” (RELATED: Biden Sues DOJ To Block Release Of Audio Files. Trump Responds)

“Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities,” U.S. code reads.

Republican South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson introduced a bill in early 2025 that would have allowed an exception to commemorate this year’s anniversary. However, the bill has spent the last 15 months stuck in committee. If the notes were to be printed, Trump would be the first living person to appear on U.S. currency since 1866, the Post reported.

The printing bureau’s director, Patricia Solimene, and additional staffers told U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and senior advisor Mike Browne that the note faced legal and bureaucratic barriers and the process would take years longer than anticipated, the four active and former employees told the outlet. Both appointees responded dismissively, two of the employees alleged.

“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,” one employee told the Post. “Currency often takes six to eight years to produce a new bill, particularly one of such high value.”

Experts also said that the note’s design and production would necessitate collaboration with the Federal Reserve, the Secret Service and partners in the private sector, according to the Post. Felix said the design and production of the $100 bill took more than a decade because of the addition of counterfeit-preventing security features.

“These guys think you can just print something overnight and it’s going to work in an ATM. It’s just crazy,” one employee told the Post. “It takes years and years and years to produce these notes so they are reliable for the public.”

America is turning 250—and it’s time to make more history! Today, I met with @TreasurerBeach on my proposal to put President Donald Trump on a new $250 bill. We’ve included this in a recent FI hearing in @FinancialCmte. Let’s honor 250 years of American greatness by celebrating… pic.twitter.com/WgRl4xAJrU

— Congressman Andy Barr (@RepAndyBarr) January 8, 2026

The designer of the portrait, British painter Iain Alexander, told the Post that Trump had been involved in the design, including suggesting the use of colors from the American flag and the addition of a logo commemorating America’s 250th anniversary.

The updated draft that included Trump’s notes was shared by Republican Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr in January. The picture showed Barr and Beach holding the oversized mock-up. “Let’s honor 250 years of American greatness by celebrating the President who put America First!” Barr wrote at the time.

Alexander told the Post that he had proposed adding a “women’s liberation” theme to the back of the $250 bill featuring Betsy Ross and other seamstresses who crafted the flags during the Revolutionary War to Trump. “He absolutely loved it,” the painter said.

Meanwhile, the four active and former employees told the Post that limited-edition $100 bills bearing Trump’s signature — the first bills to carry the signature of a sitting president — had already been sent to print at the bureau’s facility in downtown Washington.

The White House, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Treasury Department did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.