Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Plan Abandoned by Trump Administration After Decade of Delays
The Trump administration has ended the nearly decade-long effort to place abolitionist and freedom fighter Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, abandoning a proposal first announced under President Barack Obama and later revived by President Joe Biden.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the administration’s position Monday when asked by Spectrum News whether the Treasury Department still planned to move forward with the redesigned bill.
“We are not at present,” Bessent said.
The decision appears to bring an end, at least under the current administration, to years of efforts to place Tubman on one of the nation’s most widely circulated bills.
Originally proposed under the Obama administration in 2016, the redesigned $20 bill was once expected to debut in 2020 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote following the suffrage movement.
Bessent Says Currency Changes Take Years
Bessent addressed the Tubman redesign while also discussing reports of a proposed $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump.
“The 250 requires an act of Congress, because you can’t have a living person [on U.S. currency], and it was to commit [sic] — for the 250th anniversary,” Bessent said. “For us to change an existing bill, whether it’s $1 through $100 takes many years in advance.”
Any new $250 denomination featuring Trump would require congressional action. Federal law prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
The administration’s abandonment of the Tubman plan quickly drew criticism on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat who has introduced legislation supporting Tubman’s placement on the $20 bill, said she was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.
“I am extremely disappointed to hear that Secretary Bessent has halted plans to put Harriet Tubman’s likeness on the $20 bill,” Shaheen said in a statement.
“Commemorating Harriet Tubman would have been the perfect way to honor the women who helped build this country and bravely stood up for freedom and equality throughout our nation’s remarkable 250-year history,” she continued.
Shaheen also pointed to the Trump administration’s reported interest in a bill bearing the president’s image.
“Though Secretary Bessent may be more interested in illegally plastering Donald Trump’s image on a $250 bill, putting a woman on a U.S. bill remains long overdue, and I will keep focusing on finding a path to honor Harriet Tubman’s patriotism and sacrifice.”
Trump Previously Called Tubman Plan ‘Pure Political Correctness’
The Harriet Tubman $20 bill proposal has faced years of delays and political resistance since it was first introduced during the Obama administration.
Tubman, who escaped slavery before becoming one of the nation’s most celebrated abolitionists and conductors on the Underground Railroad, was selected to replace former President Andrew Jackson on the front of the bill.
Trump opposed the move during his first presidential campaign, calling it “pure political correctness.” He suggested it would be “more appropriate” to place Tubman on a lower-denomination bill rather than replace Jackson, a president Trump has repeatedly praised.
During Trump’s first term, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the updated $20 bill featuring Tubman would be delayed. In 2019, Mnuchin said the new design would not arrive on the original timeline, pushing the effort years into the future.
The delay sparked criticism from lawmakers and advocates who accused the administration of sidelining a historic effort to place a Black woman on U.S. paper currency.
Biden Administration Revived the Effort
President Joe Biden revived the proposal after taking office in 2021 and said his administration would explore ways to speed up the process.
“The Treasury Department is taking steps to resume efforts to put Harriet Tubman on the front of the new $20 notes,” then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a January 2021 briefing.
“It’s important that our notes, our money … reflect the history and diversity of our country, and Harriet Tubman’s image gracing the new $20 note would certainly reflect that,” she added. “So we’re exploring ways to speed up that effort.”
Now, the Trump administration appears to have quashed the proposal, which was originally expected to debut in 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote after decades of suffrage activism.
