Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he won’t be meeting the 2020 deadline to release new designs of the $20 bill that was supposed to feature antislavery activist Harriet Tubman.
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) asked the secretary about the Obama administration’s 2020 deadline to release the new $20 bills.
Mnuchin told her that the bill redesign won’t come out until 2028, citing “counterfeiting issues.”
“The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretary’s down the road,” Mnuchin said.
The Treasury secretary repeatedly dodged Pressley’s questions asking if he supported having Tubman on the bill at all.
“I’ve made no decision as it relates to that and that decision won’t be made until 2026,” Mnuchin said, apparently changing the year from 2028.
When Pressley asked if he agreed with President Donald Trump’s claim that putting Tubman on the bill was just “political correctness,” Mnuchin responded, “I think right now I am focused on the security features of the U.S. currency.”
“So does that mean you have no intention of executing the redesign as planned by your predecessor?” asked Pressley.
“That is correct. I have not made a decision to execute on a redesign or haven’t made a decision,” Mnuchin replied.
Watch Mnuchin’s exchange with Pressley below:
Treasury Sec. Mnuchin says the $20 bill redesign featuring Harriet Tubman won’t come out in 2020 as originally planned, won’t say if he supports having Tubman on the bill. pic.twitter.com/tmAwpQ5a6h
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 22, 2019
