A plan by the U.S. government to honor one of the most prominent figures in Black history appears to be dead. Years after it was announced that a leading figure in the fight against slavery would be honored on U.S. currency, the Trump administration is reversing course.
Trump administration drops plan for Harriet Tubman $20 bill
Spectrum News reported that the plan to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill is no longer being pursued.
When the news organization asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, “Is Treasury still planning to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill?” Bessent simply replied, “We are not at present.”
While Bessent did not provide additional details about the apparent canceling of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill, he did respond to a question about why the change was being put on hold while the White House was pushing a plan to print a new $250 bill with President Donald Trump’s face.
“The 250 requires an act of Congress,” Bessent explained, noting that the law does not permit a living person to appear on U.S. currency.
By contrast, Bessent argued, “For us to change an existing bill, whether it’s $1 through $100, takes many years in advance.”
Decade-long struggle to add Tubman to the $20 bill
Bessent’s comments represent the latest setback in the plan to replace the image of President Andrew Jackson, a slaveholder and driving force behind the Native American displacement through the Trail of Tears, with Tubman, a conductor on the Underground Railroad who also served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
The plan to replace Jackson with Tubman on the $20 bill was first announced in 2016 by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew under President Barack Obama.
Then-presidential candidate Trump said at the time that “Andrew Jackson had a great history,” and although he said, “I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic,” he dismissed the plan as “pure political correctness.”
During Trump’s first term, the plan to put Tubman on the $20 bill was pushed back to 2028 and then to 2030, leading to frustration from Tubman’s family. The Biden administration announced in 2021 that it was restarting the process to add Tubman’s image to the bill, but the bill has not been changed.
Trump has honored Jackson, downplayed Tubman as part of anti-DEI policy
The Trump administration’s opposition to changing the $20 bill comes in the context of the president’s anti-diversity campaign. In the name of opposing diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, the administration has removed information about Black history and the history of slavery, including information specifically about Tubman, from federal institutions, including museums and parks.
Meanwhile, Trump has expressed admiration for various slaveholders, including restoring a statue of a slaveholding signer of the Declaration of Independence and reverting the names of military bases to the names of Confederate leaders. Trump has prominently displayed a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the White House while removing or obscuring portraits of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
With this track record, it is not surprising that the Trump administration continues to oppose the plan to replace the image of one of American history’s most prominent slaveholders with one of its most prominent abolitionists. But the news will no doubt disappoint the Tubman family and others who hoped to present a fuller and less whitewashed picture of American history.