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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Mike Bedigan

Trump signature to be added to US bills in first for a sitting president

Donald Trump’s signature will be added to all newly printed U.S. paper currency, the U.S. Treasury Department has announced.

The move would be a first for a sitting president, since traditionally, U.S. paper currency carries the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer, but not the president.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement Thursday.

“There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial.”

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment on the story.

The addition of Trump’s signature is the latest instance of the president attempting to push his name or likeness onto American culture, such as his renaming of the Kennedy Center performing arts venue in Washington, D.C.

It comes as Trump also pushes plans to get his face on a coin to mark America’s 250th anniversary on July 4 this year. The final design was approved for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin earlier this month and features a portrait of the president standing over his resolute desk with his knuckles pressed firmly down while staring into the camera.

The vote by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts clears the way for the U.S. Mint to begin production on the coin, whose size and denomination are still under discussion.

It comes as Trump also pushes plans to get his face on a coin to mark America’s 250th anniversary on July 4 this year. The final design was approved for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin earlier this month, and features a portrait of the president standing over his resolute desk with his knuckles pressed firmly down while staring into the camera (US Commission of Fine Arts)

Federal law says no living president can appear on U.S. currency. But Megan Sullivan, the acting chief of the Office of Design Management at the Mint, said the Treasury secretary has the authority to authorize the minting and issuance of certain coins.

U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a separate statement Thursday that printing Trump's signature on the American currency "is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.”

The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for producing all paper currency, while the U.S. Mint produces all the coins.

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