Merkley, Cortez Masto Lead New Bill to Block Donald Trump from Putting His Face on Dollar Coin

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Nevada’s U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto introduced new legislation to prevent any living or sitting U.S. President from being featured on any U.S. currency.
TheChange Corruption Actwould ensure President Trump cannot be featured on an upcoming one-dollar coin in celebration of the Semiquincentennial, America’s 250th birthday.Public reportinganddraft designssuggest the U.S. Mint is considering a dollar coin featuring Trump, despite the historical precedent of America not featuring a living or sitting President on a circulating coin. A final decision on the design could come as soon as this week.
“President Trump’s self-celebrating maneuvers are authoritarian actions worthy of dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, not the United States of America,”said Merkley.“We must reject his efforts to dismantle our ‘We, The People’ republic and replace it with a strongman state by demanding strong accountability to prevent further abuse of taxpayer dollars. As we look ahead to America’s 250th birthday, I’ll keep fighting back against Trump’s corruption and partisan propaganda.”
“While monarchs put their faces on coins, America has never had and never will have a king,”said Cortez Masto.“Our legislation would codify this country’s long-standing tradition of not putting living Presidents on American coins. Congress must pass it without delay.”
TheChange Corruption Actis also co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“Donald Trump will stop at nothing to steal the spotlight, and that includes putting an image of himself on a U.S. coin,”said Wyden. “While kings insist on immortalizing their image on shiny objects, real leaders care about focusing on the issues of today. I’m proud to support this bill that ensures our country does not worship its leaders like kings.”
“President Trump seeks to disobey the law and betray our American values by having his portrait minted on U.S. currency,”said Blumenthal.“A long-standing tradition and rejection of monarchy, our nation has never allowed the image of a living or sitting president to be used on circulating currency. OurChange Corruption Actreaffirms this tradition and prohibits currency from being used to honor or promote the current President of the United States.”
Previously, Merkley and Cortez Masto led seven Senate Democrats—including Wyden—ina letterto U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling on him to reject the proposed designs for the Semiquincentennial dollar coin featuring the likeness of President Trump.
Merkley has been a long-time leader in the push to end public corruption, includingleading a bipartisan bill that would prevent lawmakers from trading stocksandlegislation to crack down on cryptocurrency-related corruption by elected officials at the highest levels of the federal government. He has also championed efforts to crack down on dark money in politics.
Full text of theChange Corruption Actcan be found by clickinghere.
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