The Treasury Department is considering issuing a $250 bill featuring President Trump, though any such banknote would require a change in federal law, an agency official told CBS News.

The bill's development, first reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, comes in response to legislation proposed last year by Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, the department said. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed the $250 bill at a White House press briefing on Thursday. 

"For U.S. currency at present, no living person can be on U.S. currency, and the currency must say 'In God We Trust'," he said. "So right now, there is proposed legislation that is in front of the House, in front of the Senate, to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J. Trump, could be on the $250 bill."

"So we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed. But we will stick to the law," Bessent added.

A Treasury Department official told CBS News in an email that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is "conducting appropriate planning and due diligence in response to the proposed legislation."

The official added, "Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation."

Federal law stipulates that "only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities." Wilson's bill would amend the Federal Reserve Act by requiring the Treasury secretary to print $250 bills that "feature a portrait of Donald J. Trump."

After the "Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act" was introduced in Congress in February 2025, it was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services that same day. It has since stalled out, with no actions since then.

Over the past year, the president has sought to imprint more forms of currency with his name or image, with the Treasury announcing in March that future currency would bear Mr. Trump's signature. In October, the department said it was working on a $1 coin featuring the president's image to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence this July 4. 

What would the bill look like?

Asked about the bill's design, the Treasury Department official referred CBS News to Rep. Wilson's legislation. A press release on Wilson's website shows an AI design mock-up that features a color portrait of Mr. Trump on the left-hand side of a $250 note. 

Another version appeared in the Washington Post article, with the publication noting the image was a mockup provided by White House officials to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing staff. The image depicts a bill printed in shades of green ink, similar to current banknotes, with a center image of Mr. Trump. 

New currency designs can take years to develop, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Designs typically are only released to the public six to eight months before the currency enters circulation to hamper counterfeiters, the bureau says.

Given that design process, the Treasury Department official said that "any 'designs' or 'mockups' circulating are not real."

The $250 bill would be the latest addition to a lineup of currency created to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. In December 2025, the Treasury Department unveiled a series of new designs for the nickel, dime, quarter and half dollar that will appear on coins minted in 2026.

"The designs on these historic coins depict the story of America's journey toward a 'more perfect union,' and celebrate America's defining ideals of liberty," the U.S. Mint said on its website.