U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) poses for a photograph before a rally with fellow House Democrats to demand that American abolitionist heroine Harriet Tubman's image be put on the $20 bill outside the U.S. Treasury Department June 27, 2019 in Washin …
WASHINGTON - U.S. Democratic senators are urging the Trump administration to revive plans to place abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department is no longer pursuing the redesign, according to Reuters.
The backstory:
The Obama administration announced in 2016 that Tubman — who was born into slavery in the early 1820s and later helped hundreds of enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad — would replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Earlier this month, however, Bessent said the Treasury Department was "not at present" planning to move forward with the redesign. Had the change been made, Tubman would have become the first Black American featured on U.S. paper currency, Reuters reported.
RELATED: Harriet Tubman $20 bill plan halted, treasury secretary says
Dig deeper:
The decision effectively ends a decade-long effort that had bipartisan backing and comes as some Trump administration allies have proposed placing President Donald Trump's image on a $250 bill, a change that would require congressional approval, according to Reuters.
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Harriet Tubman monument unveiled in Newark as replacement for Columbus statue
A new monument honoring Harriet Tubman was unveiled on Thursday, in the newly named square bearing her name, in Newark, New Jersey.(Credit: City of Newark, NJ - City Hall via Storyful)
What they're saying:
"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," a group of senators led by Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland wrote in a letter to Bessent obtained by Reuters.
"We urge you to immediately reconsider and resume plans to create the new bill without further delay," the senators wrote, also asking Bessent to explain what informed the decision, Reuters reported.
Big picture view:
According to Reuters, no new person has appeared on U.S. paper currency since 1928. While some officials in the current Trump administration have advocated for a $250 bill featuring Trump to mark the nation's 250th anniversary, the Treasury Department has said Congress would have to authorize living people to appear on U.S. paper currency. Reuters also reported that a commemorative $1 coin bearing Trump's likeness, authorized under a 2020 law he signed during his first term, is currently in production.
The Source: Retuers contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from Reuters' reporting on a letter sent by a group of U.S. Democratic senators led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. This story was reported from Los Angeles.