Donald Trump’s latest vanity project: putting his own face on US currency.
The White House is pushing Congress to approve a $250 bill bearing the president’s portrait, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said, which would require changing longstanding federal law that prohibits any living person from appearing on US currency.
At a news conference on Thursday, Bessent said the bill would be in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence, and that the treasury has already started preparing for the possibility of the new currency. But Bessent said the treasury would “stick to the law” and that “it’s all up to Capitol Hill”.
The legislation would need a simple majority in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives but would be unlikely to garner the 60 votes necessary in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
Hakeem Jeffries, the top US House Democrat, immediately derided the proposal, writing on X that it was a “hard no on a Trump $250 bill”.
“Get over yourself,” Jeffries wrote. “The upcoming July 4th anniversary is not about a wannabe King. It’s about celebrating the American journey.”
White House pushes Congress to approve $250 bill with Trump’s image
The White House is pushing Congress to approve a $250 bill bearing Donald Trump’s portrait, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said, which would require changing longstanding federal law that prohibits any living person from appearing on US currency.
Speaking from the White House at a news conference, Bessent said the bill would be in celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence, and that the treasury has already started preparing for the possibility of the new currency.
Trump shares draft Iran peace agreement with Israel and other allies
Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.
In an attempt to speed up the negotiations, Pakistan‘s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will fly to Washington on Friday to meet his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.
Trump refiles $10bn lawsuit against WSJ over report on alleged Epstein ties
Donald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.
Federal inquiry into E Jean Carroll part of investigation into Reid Hoffman non-profit
The justice department’s inquiry into E Jean Carroll is part of an investigation into an entity backed by the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, according to people familiar with the matter. A source familiar with the investigation told the Guardian that Carroll is not the subject of the investigation, but said that it was related to Carroll and her deposition, and is more focused on Hoffman’s non-profit.
Trump’s Memphis crime taskforce accused of using ‘immense force’
An anti-crime taskforce ordered by Trump on to the streets of Memphis has been accused of targeting community observers with widespread intimidation including “immense force”.
Agents have been “retaliating against, intimidating, and harassing” observers attempting to monitor the federal taskforce’s activity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee, which alleges that officials have tailed cars, surveilled homes and even “falsely arrested” a community observer.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit this month against Tennessee state and federal officials administering the anti-crime initiative.
DoJ sues four states for denying ICE agents undercover license plates
The Trump administration is suing to challenge the refusal of four US states to issue confidential license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, saying the states have long provided them to other law enforcement agencies conducting undercover operations.
No Kings event set for 14 June, as Trump celebrates birthday with White House UFC bout
The No Kings movement has announced a nationwide event on 14 June, directly counter-programming Donald Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations and a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout on the south lawn of the White House.
What else happened today:
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Abortion restrictions in the US have made it more difficult to access care for miscarriages, a new study stays. The new research found that since the June 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe v Wade, pregnancy care has fractured along state lines; it’s getting increasingly harder to access healthcare for miscarriages in US states with abortion restrictions.
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The White House has posted on social media a tribute to mark Thursday’s 10th anniversary of the death of a figure it called “a true patriot”. The hero was not a human, however; it concerned the infamous case of the 400lb western lowland gorilla that had been named Harambe, which was shot dead at the Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure and interacted with the animal.
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At least five of the nine featured musical acts set to play in a concert series organized by the Trump administration to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary have dropped out, just a day after the lineup was announced.
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The co-founder of the group Students for Trump was arrested on Tuesday on domestic violence charges. Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department arrested Ryan Fournier, 30, and charged him with simple assault and threats to do bodily harm, Defector first reported.
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Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, signed legislation on Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.
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Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney has called for a new relationship with the United States to “help make America great again”. In a speech delivered in New York on Thursday, Carney said that there should be a “true partnership” that reimagines cooperation in specific sectors challenged by global competition.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Wednesday 27 May.
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