WASHINGTON, May 28, 2026 — Hillary Clinton responded to a Washington Post investigation into Trump administration efforts to put the president’s portrait on a new $250 bill with a pointed inflation jab on Wednesday, saying that by the end of Trump’s term the denomination would “be just enough to buy one gallon of gas and a carton of eggs.”
“By the end of Trump’s term, it’ll be just enough to buy one gallon of gas and a carton of eggs,” Clinton wrote on X, linking to the Washington Post’s exclusive investigation into the $250 bill push.
What the Washington Post Found
The investigation — based on accounts from four current and former Bureau of Engraving and Printing employees — revealed that two Treasury Department political appointees, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and his senior adviser Mike Brown, repeatedly pressed bureau staff to design prototypes of a $250 bill bearing Trump’s portrait, despite federal law prohibiting living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
Beach provided bureau staff with mock-up designs in August and September 2025, including one showing Trump’s face in the center of the bill between the signatures of the president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to the Post. The artist behind the mock-up, British painter Iain Alexander — who describes himself as a royal portrait artist of Queen Elizabeth II — told the Post that Trump personally reviewed and endorsed changes to the design, including adding American flag colors and a 250th anniversary logo. “He likes to call me his favorite British artist,” Alexander said.
The bureau’s director, Patricia “Patty” Solimene — a 24-year Army veteran and the first female director of the bureau — repeatedly told Beach and Brown that producing the note would require legislation and years of preparation, and that legal and procedural obstacles prevented moving forward. She was abruptly reassigned from her post by Treasury management on April 27, 2026. In a goodbye email to colleagues, she wrote: “The buck stopped here.”
Brown, the political appointee who had been pushing for the bill, was subsequently named acting director of the bureau. He did not respond to the Post’s requests for comment.
What Federal Law Says
The legal barriers are significant. 31 U.S. Code § 5114 states that only a “deceased individual” may be depicted on U.S. currency — a prohibition that has been in place since 1866, when it was enacted after the image of a mid-level Treasury official appeared on a 5-cent note without authorization. No living person has appeared on American currency since.
A separate statutory provision governs which denominations the bureau is authorized to produce — and a $250 note is not among them without an act of Congress. Larry R. Felix, a former director of the bureau, told the Post that “a $250 note is not statutorily authorized” without legislative action. “The secretary has to be given authority to do that,” he said.
Currency experts also noted the practical timeline involved. Felix said it took more than a decade to design and produce a new $100 note with dozens of embedded security features. “Currency often takes six to eight years to produce a new bill, particularly one of such high value,” one bureau employee told the Post. “These guys think you can just print something overnight and it’s going to work in an ATM. It’s just crazy.”
Treasury’s Position
A Treasury Department spokesperson said the bureau “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence in response to the proposed legislation” and that “should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note.” The spokesperson added that Beach “has never asked staff to print the bill before congressional passage.” Treasury declined to comment on Solimene’s reassignment.
The Trump administration has separately confirmed that $100 bills bearing Trump’s signature — the first in American history to carry a sitting president’s signature — are currently being printed at the bureau’s downtown Washington facility, having received Solimene’s consent before her reassignment. “Based on the recommendation of U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, Secretary Bessent will recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Trump by adding his signature to the currency,” the Treasury statement said.
The Legislation
In February 2025, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., introduced H.R. 1234, which would order the Treasury secretary to print $250 Federal Reserve notes featuring Trump’s portrait. The bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee but has not received a hearing. A spokesperson for Wilson’s office told the Post that both Bessent and Trump have spoken with Wilson “on multiple occasions” about their support for the legislation.
In January 2026, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., posted a photo on X showing him and Beach holding a mock-up of the bill featuring the American flag colors and the 250th anniversary logo — the same design Alexander said he created after receiving Trump’s direct feedback.
Clinton’s Inflation Dig
Clinton’s one-line response framed the $250 bill story not as a constitutional or ethical issue but as an economic one — linking the denomination to the purchasing power Americans will have left after four years of Trump’s economic policies. Gas prices have risen significantly since Trump’s Iran war began, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil supply and driving up fuel costs for American consumers. Grocery prices, particularly for eggs, have remained elevated due to ongoing inflation and supply chain pressures.
Clinton has been among Trump’s most consistent and pointed critics during his second term, firing sharp one-liners on X targeting his stock trades, White House renovations, and now his currency ambitions. Her inflation framing of the $250 bill — connecting a denomination meant to celebrate national greatness to the diminished purchasing power of ordinary Americans — was widely shared and amplified by Democratic lawmakers within hours of posting.
By
By
