Trump signature to appear on US currency, ending 165-year tradition

US paper currency will bear President Donald Trump's signature starting this summer, marking the first time a sitting president has signed American money, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The redesigned notes, planned to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, will also, for the first time in 165 years, drop the signature of the US treasurer - an official who reports to the Treasury Secretary and oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the US Mint and other Treasury functions.

The first $100 bills carrying the signatures of Trump and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be printed in June, followed by other denominations in subsequent months. The new notes may take several weeks to enter circulation through banks.

The Treasury is still producing currency bearing the signatures of former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who served under ex-President Joe Biden, and former Treasurer Lynn Malerba.

Malerba will be the last in an unbroken line of treasurers whose signatures have appeared on US federal currency since 1861, when the government first began issuing paper money.

The signature change is the latest effort by the Trump administration and its allies to imprint the president's name on buildings, institutions, government programmes, warships and coins. A federal arts panel appointed by Trump also approved last week the design for a commemorative gold coin featuring his image.

Bessent said the move was appropriate for the country's 250th anniversary, citing strong economic growth and financial stability during Trump's second term.

"There is no more powerful way to recognise the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J Trump than US dollar bills bearing his name," Bessent said, adding that issuing the currency at the semiquincentennial was fitting.

An effort to introduce a circulating $1 coin featuring Trump has faced hurdles due to laws prohibiting the depiction of living individuals on US coins.

A statute governing the printing of Federal Reserve notes gives the Treasury broad discretion to change designs to guard against counterfeiting, but requires retaining certain elements, including the phrase "In God We Trust," and permits only portraits of deceased individuals. Treasury officials said the overall design of the notes will remain unchanged, aside from replacing the treasurer's signature with that of the president. A mock-up of the new $100 bill was not immediately available.