Democratic senators have pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to reverse a decision halting plans to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill — a redesign first announced in 2016 that would have made Tubman the first African American on U.S. paper currency. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen urged the Treasury to explain the halt and to resume the decade‑long, bipartisan effort. The dispute arises as some officials discuss placing President Trump on a proposed $250 bill, a move that would require congressional approval.
Senators Demand Return of Harriet Tubman $20 Redesign After Treasury Halts Plan
FILE PHOTO: Capitol Hill staff member places signs before a news conference by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's decision to indefinitely delay putting famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the new $20 bill, on the steps of the Treasury Department in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
WASHINGTON, July 30 — A group of Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to revive a stalled plan to place anti‑slavery activist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill after the department said it was no longer pursuing the redesign.
The redesign was announced by the Obama administration in 2016. Tubman, born into slavery in the early 1820s and later credited with helping hundreds escape via the Underground Railroad, had been slated to replace President Andrew Jackson on the note — a change that would have made her the first African American depicted on the face of U.S. paper currency.
Earlier this month, Secretary Bessent told reporters the Treasury is "not at present" planning to move forward with putting Tubman on the bill, effectively pausing a decade‑long effort that had drawn bipartisan support. The pause prompted swift pushback from Democrats who said the decision abandons years of public engagement and bipartisan recognition of Tubman’s contributions.
"The process to celebrate Tubman through our currency included extensive public engagement and bipartisan recognition of her extraordinary contributions to our nation, but your recent decision ignores that and abandons years of work at Treasury to honor her legacy," wrote senators led by Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland in a letter to Bessent first shared with Reuters.
The debate comes amid reports that some administration officials have discussed placing President Donald Trump on a proposed $250 bill to mark the United States' 250th anniversary. The Treasury has acknowledged that allowing a living person to appear on paper currency would require new legislation from Congress.
Separately, a $1 commemorative coin bearing President Trump's image for the U.S. 250th anniversary is reportedly in production under a 2020 commemorative coin law that Mr. Trump signed during his first term.
The senators asked Bessent to explain the rationale for halting the Tubman redesign and to "immediately reconsider and resume plans to create the new bill without further delay." No new person has been added to U.S. paper currency since 1928, making any change both symbolically and procedurally significant.
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