PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 27, 2025
Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to print paper currency in the denomination of $250 featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump.
Under current law, U.S. currency may only feature the portrait of a deceased person. The bill creates an exception for individuals who are or were President of the United States.
People & committees
Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] · R–SC
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 4, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would require the Treasury Secretary to print $250 paper currency featuring Donald J. Trump within one year after enactment. It also proposes an exception for current and former presidents in a law concerning portraits on currency and securities. These are proposed changes; the supplied legislative record does not establish that they became law.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this sentence, the Secretary of the Treasury shall print Federal reserve notes in the denomination of $250 and such notes shall feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump.
4. Allowing the portrait of living Presidents on United States currency and securities Section 5114(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking securities. and inserting securities, except if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.
Source snapshot updated 2026-06-04T08:07:50Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
Section 2 would express Congress's view that $250 bills bearing Trump's portrait should commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary. This statement expresses a commemorative purpose; the printing requirement appears separately in section 3.
It is the sense of the Congress that $250 bills with the portrait of Donald J. Trump be printed to commemorate the semiquincentennial of the United States.
the Secretary of the Treasury shall print Federal reserve notes in the denomination of $250 and such notes shall feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump.
Section 3 would amend the Federal Reserve Act to require the Treasury Secretary to print Federal Reserve notes—paper currency—in a $250 denomination with Trump's portrait. The deadline would be one year after enactment of the added sentence, rather than a fixed calendar date.
The 8th undesignated paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 418) is amended by adding at the end the following: Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this sentence, the Secretary of the Treasury shall print Federal reserve notes in the denomination of $250 and such notes shall feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump.
Section 4 would add an exception for anyone who is or has been U.S. president to an existing currency-and-securities provision. Its heading describes the change as allowing portraits of living presidents. The underlying statutory language is not reproduced, so the supplied text does not fully explain the rule being amended.
4. Allowing the portrait of living Presidents on United States currency and securities Section 5114(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking securities. and inserting securities, except if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated June 4, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on February 27, 2025. It supplies no subsequent legislative actions and does not establish the bill's later status.
Source snapshot updated 2026-06-04T08:07:50Z. 2025-02-27: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2025-02-27: Introduced in House 2025-02-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion applies only to that version, not other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of absent disclosure or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The text contains a narrow presidential exception directly related to its currency-design policy. Classification identifies special treatment, not a judgment about its justification.
Current and former U.S. presidents would receive a special exception under the currency-and-securities provision being amended. The section heading describes this as allowing portraits of living presidents, and the bill separately mandates Trump's portrait on $250 notes. The full existing restriction is not supplied.
4. Allowing the portrait of living Presidents on United States currency and securities Section 5114(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking securities. and inserting securities, except if the individual is or has been the President of the United States.
the Secretary of the Treasury shall print Federal reserve notes in the denomination of $250 and such notes shall feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jun 4, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI