Shaheen, Van Hollen Call on Treasury Secretary Bessent to Explain Inaction on Long Overdue Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Redesign

**Shaheen leads a decade-long effort to place Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill stemming from her longstanding legislation ** (Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are leading eight Senators in pressing the U.S. Department of Treasury to explain why it is no longer planning to redesign the $20 bill to depict Harriet Tubman’s likeness and urging it to reconsider. Their letter, calling for more transparency and clarity, is a direct response to recent comments from Treasury Secretary Bessent indicating the Department is not currently working to put Harriet Tubman on U.S. currency. The Senators note that the Department has instead devoted resources to circulating multiple coins with President Trump’s likeness and plans for an illegal $250 bill depicting the President. The Senators wrote, in part: “We write to express our deep frustration that the Department of the Treasury is ‘not at present’ planning to move forward with the long-standing effort to place Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill. 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. We urge you to immediately reconsider and resume plans to create the new bill without further delay.” They continued: “While we acknowledge the creation of a new currency note is a multi-year process involving design, counterfeit protection and implementation into our financial system, the administration has released plans for a $250 bill depicting President Trump to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, a currency that would be illegal for the Treasury Department to issue under current law. You also released plans for multiple coins featuring President Trump’s likeness for the semiquincentennial. Meanwhile, a woman has not been featured on modern American currency in over a century and recognition for their contributions to our nation are long overdue. If the administration is actively working on new currency notes, the administration should focus on the long-standing plan to feature Harriet Tubman rather than develop a new design.” They concluded: “Honoring Harriet Tubman on our nation's currency is an important recognition of her legacy and we urge you to reconsider. In addition, we request that you provide a detailed explanation of your comments about placing Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill, including what factors informed the decision and whether the redesign has been permanently canceled or merely delayed. The American people and Congress deserve transparency regarding this decision, and we request a briefing no later than August 12, 2026.” The full letter can be read HERE . In addition to Senators Shaheen and Van Hollen, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). For a decade, Senator Shaheen has led action in the Senate pushing for Harriet Tubman’s depiction on the $20 bill. In 2015, she called on the Obama administration to feature a woman on our currency through executive action and introduced the Harriet Tubman Tribute Act to require all $20 bills to bear Tubman’s likeness. During the first Trump Administration, Shaheen called on U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to release a detailed timeline on the $20 bill redesign to meet the 2020 deadline in conjunction with the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage. Secretary Mnuchin failed to provide such information and the Trump Administration refused to make this a priority. Shaheen engaged with the Biden administration transition team before the President took office, urging his administration to make this a priority. In 2021, Shaheen, along with then-U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), sent a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen , urging the Department to prioritize putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. ###