TREASURY DROPS HARRIET TUBMAN $20 BILL PLAN, BESSENT SAYS
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on July 6, 2026, that the department is not moving forward with the Harriet Tubman $20 bill, and he gave no reason. The plan to put the Underground Railroad icon on the note dated back to the Obama administration in 2016.
Bessent was asked by Spectrum News whether the redesign was still on track. “We are not, at present,” he said, according to Yahoo News.
Reuters reported that a Treasury spokesperson declined to comment beyond Bessent’s remark.
Bessent did bring up a different bill. “The 250 requires an act of Congress, because you can’t have a living person [on U.S. currency], and it was to commit [sic] – for the 250th anniversary,” he said. The Washington Post had reported in May 2026 on efforts to put President Donald Trump’s image on a $250 note.
As for changing an existing bill, Bessent said: “For us to change an existing bill, whether it’s $1 through $100 takes many years in advance.”
A decade of delays
Then-Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced on April 20, 2016, that Tubman would appear on the $20 bill. The original goal was to have the new note out by 2020.
Trump’s first administration pushed the redesign back. In 2019, Ernestine Wyatt, a relation of Tubman, told CNN that the delay to 2028 “smacks of racist rhetoric.” She added, “It’s just another delay and a diversion for what’s going on.”
Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen later revived the project. Tucson.com reported that she cited anti-counterfeiting requirements in setting a timeline, and Reuters reported she estimated the redesigned currency would not be ready until 2030.
Rep. Joyce Beatty responded on July 8, 2026, in a statement released through her office. “In all my years, I’ve never seen an Administration so hell-bent on erasing Black excellence from American history,” she said.
Lawmakers push back
On July 30, 2026, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen led eight Senate colleagues in a letter to Bessent. “We urge you to immediately reconsider and resume plans to create the new bill without further delay,” it said, according to Shaheen’s office.
The senators asked for a Treasury briefing by August 12, 2026. They wrote that “the American people and Congress deserve transparency regarding this decision,” according to Van Hollen’s office. Their statement said Treasury had put resources into circulating multiple coins with Trump’s likeness and had plans for a $250 bill depicting him.
On August 20, 2026, Beatty and Rep. John W. Mannion sent Bessent a letter of their own. “Given the Department’s current focus on developing new currency notes, we urge you to first resume and then implement the now long-overdue effort to portray Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill,” they wrote. They also asked for a transparent timeline.
Treasury answered an earlier letter in September, and Mannion was not satisfied. “Unfortunately, your September response failed to address either request,” he and his colleagues wrote, according to Mannion’s office.
On October 22, 2026, Mannion sent Bessent a follow-up letter. His office said Treasury’s September reply did not clarify whether the initiative had been delayed or permanently discontinued.
The letter asked for an account of Treasury’s prior work and the resources spent on the redesign, its current status and a proposed timeline for next steps. It also urged Treasury to work with the Anti-Counterfeiting Deterrence Committee to find a way forward while addressing security concerns.
