Trump's face could appear on the $250 US banknote

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump could soon appear on the new $250 banknote, in the latest move to break American traditions by putting his personal stamp on national institutions.

The proposal for the new bill, featuring Trump's gleaming likeness, was first reported by the Washington Post.

If implemented, it would be the first time the image of a living person, let alone a president, has appeared on US currency in the last century and a half, AFP reports.

"There is currently a proposed bill, before the House of Representatives, before the Senate, that changes the first condition so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, can be on the $250 bill," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a media briefing on Thursday.

"I don't think there is anything undesirable about having the President of the United States, the person who is the President of the United States, on a banknote for the 250th anniversary," Bessent said. The department has made preliminary preparations if the law is passed, but will "abide by the law."

A copy of the design obtained by the Washington Post read "America's 250th Anniversary," a nod to the United States declaring independence on July 4, 1776.

According to the Post, two Trump-appointed officials at the Treasury Department began calling staff at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing last year to prepare prototypes.

Employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Post that the plan raises concerns because it would violate federal law prohibiting the depiction of living presidents on US currency.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman told AFP that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is "conducting appropriate planning and due diligence" in response to the proposal and added that Treasurer Brandon Beach did not ask staff to print the banknote before congressional action.

Printing director Patricia Solimene objected, warning officials, including Beach, of legal and procedural hurdles, employees told the Post.

Solimene was abruptly removed from her position, the newspaper reported.

Such concerns have not prevented the Trump administration from continuing its efforts to place his likeness or name on cultural institutions and other items, drawing accusations of a personality cult around the 79-year-old leader.

Earlier this year, the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, unanimously approved the minting of a commemorative "semiquincentennial gold coin" made of 24-karat gold.

In recent months, both the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the US Institute of Peace have been rebranded to include Trump's name.

His likeness also gazes from banners adorning the Departments of Justice and Agriculture, and will soon appear in some US passports, according to the State Department.

The bill that would allow Trump to appear on the $250 banknote was introduced to Congress last year but has remained inactive.

Democrats have been critical of the idea, with Senator Mark Warner, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, saying the proposal boils down to the White House apparently "feeding the president's ego."