💵“The $250 Bill” Edition

According to multiple reports, Treasury officials have been quietly pushing plans for a commemorative note bearing Trump’s portrait, despite the minor technicality that federal law has prohibited living people from appearing on U.S. currency since 1866. Apparently the administration’s working theory is that if you can’t change the economy, you can at least redesign the money.

The proposal reportedly involved administration officials urging the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to develop prototypes, complete with Trump’s image, signature, patriotic colors, and America250 branding. The artist behind the mock-up says Trump personally reviewed the design and offered suggestions. At this point, the president’s involvement in the nation’s currency appears to be approaching the level of a bride obsessing over wedding invitations.

Career officials attempted to explain that there were one or two obstacles. First, Congress has not authorized a $250 denomination. Second, Congress has not authorized Trump’s image on currency. Third, creating new banknotes normally takes years of testing, redesign, security reviews, and coordination with the Federal Reserve. These concerns reportedly earned the bureau’s director a reassignment. At least they weren’t “reassigned” out the nearest window, as they might have been in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

(For what it’s worth, the departing bureau director may have written the best punchline herself. Forced out after repeatedly explaining why the project wasn’t legally authorized, she signed off her farewell email with four perfect words: “The buck stopped here.”)

Rick McKee - cagle.com/mckee

Jimmy Margulies - King Features

Clay Jones - Substack and Claytoonz

KAL - Substack and Andrews McMeel

Dennis Goris

Matt Wuerker - Andrews McMeel

Steve Sack - cagle.com/sack

Rob Rogers - Tinyview Comics and Andrews McMeel

Drew Sheneman - Substack and Tribune Content Agency