U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is leading a Democratic effort to prevent any sitting or living former president from appearing on U.S. coins or currency, targeting a proposed “Trump Dollar Coin” that has drawn political attention.
Cortez Masto, along with six Senate Democrats, sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government asking for language in the next government funding package that would bar the Treasury Department, U.S. Mint, and Bureau of Engraving and Printing from issuing any coin or currency featuring a living president’s likeness or signature.
The proposal also extends to signatures, seeking to prohibit any sitting president’s autograph from appearing on U.S. money or securities.
The senators argued the move would align with long-standing American tradition and symbolism. “While the bust of living monarchs and dictators have appeared on circulating world coins, a living President has never appeared on a circulating United States Coin,” the letter stated. It also cited George Washington’s opposition to placing his image on currency during his lifetime, framing it as inconsistent with the nation’s break from monarchy.
Under the requested language, any new coin design would also require review and recommendation by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee before approval. The push now shifts to the appropriations process, where lawmakers will decide whether to include the proposed restrictions in the 2027 funding package.
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