A decade-long push to place abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill faces an unexpected setback after the Trump administration announced it has abandoned the plan, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. When asked by Spectrum News on Monday whether the Treasury Department was still planning to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, Bessent responded, “We are not at present,” offering no further explanation.
The redesign had been scheduled for 2030 under previous administrations. President Barack Obama’s Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew first announced the plan in 2016 to honor Tubman, who conducted 13 missions on the Underground Railroad to free approximately 70 enslaved people. The initial timeline called for the new bill to enter circulation in 2020, but it was repeatedly delayed.
Despite the Trump administration’s move, Congress is pushing back. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced the Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025 on March 10, 2025, renewing her decade-long effort to mandate the redesign. The bill requires the Treasury secretary to redesign $20 Federal Reserve notes to feature Tubman’s likeness, with the change to take effect on all bills printed after December 31, 2030.
Shaheen expressed disappointment at the Treasury Department’s decision. “I was extremely disappointed to hear that Secretary Bessent has halted plans to put Harriet Tubman’s likeness on the $20 bill,” she said in a statement. “Commemorating Harriet Tubman would have been the perfect way to honor the women who helped build this country and bravely stood up for freedom and equality throughout our nation’s remarkable 250-year history.”
The Trump administration’s handling of the Tubman redesign contrasts sharply with its approach to a proposed new $250 bill. Bessent explained that creating a new denomination requires an act of Congress because living persons cannot appear on U.S. currency, while changing an existing bill takes years of advance planning. However, critics note the administration has signaled readiness to produce the Trump $250 bill quickly if Congress approves it. Trump previously called putting Tubman on the $20 “pure political correctness” during his 2016 campaign.
Sources
- Spectrum News — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s statement abandoning the Harriet Tubman $20 bill plan on July 7, 2026
- Congress.gov — Harriet Tubman Tribute Act of 2025 (S.923) introduced March 10, 2025
- NPR — Coverage of the 2025 renewed effort and the 2030 target date
- U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen official website — Statement on the Treasury Department’s decision to halt the plan
