And Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that plans to replace Andrew Jackson’s portrait on the $20 bill with abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman are on hold until at least 2026. Tubman would be the first woman in over a century—and the first African American—to appear on a U.S. banknote. This is Massachusetts Democrat and freshman Congressmember Ayanna Pressley questioning Mnuchin on Wednesday.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “The American people understood the importance of representation on the banknotes of the world’s most powerful economy. … Do you support Harriet Tubman being on the $20 bill?”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: “I’ve made no decision as it relates to that, and that decision won’t be made, in, as I said”—
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “But there was a community process.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: —”until most likely 2026.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley: “There was a national—there was a community process.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: “Again, it’s a decision of the secretary of the Treasury. Right now my decision is focused on security features.”
President Trump has cited Andrew Jackson as his favorite U.S. president. Jackson was a slaveholder who in 1830 signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced 16,000 Native Americans from their lands in what became known as the Trail of Tears.