US President Donald Trump could soon be featured on a new $250 bill, marking a break from nearly 150 years of American tradition that has kept the image of living people off US currency. The proposal, first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday, includes a design mock-up showing Trump with the inscription “America 250 anniversary,” commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence on July 4, 1776.

US President Donald Trump could soon be featured on a new $250 bill, marking a break from nearly 150 years of American tradition that has kept the image of living people off US currency.

The proposal, first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday, includes a design mock-up showing Trump with the inscription “America 250 anniversary,” commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence on July 4, 1776.

According to the report, two Trump appointees at the Treasury Department began pushing staff at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing last year to develop prototypes of the bill.

Employees at the bureau, who spoke anonymously, told the Post that the plan raises serious legal concerns because it would violate a federal law prohibiting depictions of living presidents on US money.

Patricia Solimene, the printing bureau’s director, reportedly resisted the initiative, warning Treasury officials including US Treasurer Brandon Beach about the legal and procedural hurdles. Shortly after, Solimene was abruptly reassigned from her position, the Post reported.

Despite these objections, the Trump administration has continued efforts to place Trump’s name or likeness on various national institutions and items, prompting critics to accuse the 79-year-old president of cultivating a personality cult.

Earlier this year, the US Commission of Fine Arts, whose members Trump appointed, unanimously approved a 24-carat commemorative “Semiquincentennial Gold Coin.” In recent months, the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the US Institute of Peace have been renamed to include Trump’s name, while banners bearing his image now hang from the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture. His likeness is also expected to appear in some US passports soon.

Legislation permitting Trump’s image on a $250 bill was introduced in Congress last year but has remained inactive. A Treasury spokesperson told the Post that the printing office is “conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in response to the proposed law.

Democratic lawmakers have strongly criticized the move. Senator Mark Warner, a member of the Senate banking committee, said the unprecedented proposal amounts to the White House openly “stoking the president’s ego”.

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