The Treasury Department Is Taking Steps to Put Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill

The Treasury Department is working to expedite putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, confirmed on Monday, January 25. 

“The Treasury Department is taking steps to resume efforts to put Harriett Tubman on the front of the $20 notes,” Psaki told reporters during a briefing with reporters. 

“It’s important that our notes, our money…reflect the history and diversity of our country, and Harriet Tubman’s image gracing the new $20 note would certainly reflect that,” she added. “So we’re exploring ways to speed up that effort.”

This was an initiative started under Barack Obama’s presidential administration in 2016. The plan then was to unveil a Tubman bill in 2020, but Donald Trump’s administration derailed the effort. Former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin (under Trump) extended that original timeline by six to eight years. 

“It’s not something that I’m focused on at the moment,” he said in 2017. “People have been on the bills for a long period of time. This is something we’ll consider. Right now, we have a lot more important issues to focus on.”

According to The Hill, Trump knocked the Tubman $20 bill when it was first announced, calling it “pure political correctness.” He also praised Jackson for his “history of tremendous success.” Ugh. 

It should go without saying, but just to clarify: Harriet Tubman is one of the most significant and influential figures in American history and deserves her face on our currency far more than Andrew Jackson, who, don’t forget, owned slaves. 

People on Twitter are very excited about getting a Tubman $20 bill sooner rather than later. As one person iconically put it, “About time! Tubman kicks Jackson’s ass. Get that weak mfer off the 20$ and put the real Patriot Harriet Tubman on display!!”

We’ll keep you posted on any developments surrounding this story.