Donald Trump’s signature will soon appear on US paper currency, the treasury department announced on Thursday.
The move marks the first time a sitting US president’s signature will appear on legal tender. To accommodate this change, the treasurer’s signature will be removed for the first time since 1861.
The treasury said it would make the adjustment to commemorate the US’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
The treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said in a statement: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability. 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, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial.”
The first $100 bills with Trump’s signature and that of Bessent will be printed in June, followed by other bills in subsequent months, according to Reuters.
“As the 250th anniversary of our great nation approaches, American currency will continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people under President Trump’s leadership,” said the US treasurer, Brandon Beach, in a statement.
It is the latest instance of Trump putting his name and likeness on American cultural institutions, following his renaming of the US Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships, among other things.
And Trump has already sought to make his mark on US currency.
Earlier this month, the federal arts commission cleared the way for the US Mint to produce commemorative 24-carat gold coins with Trump’s image on them. The panel, composed entirely of members appointed by Trump himself, approved the design despite federal law dictating that living US presidents cannot appear on currency.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
