*The Harriet Tubman $20 bill redesign was underway before Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced last month that the design of the note would be delayed for technical reasons by six years and might not include the former slave and abolitionist.
As we previously reported, Mnuchin announced during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that the updated bill is unlikely to roll out while Donald Trump occupies the white house.
“The primary reason we’ve looked at redesigning the currency is for counterfeiting issues,” Mnuchin said. “Based upon this, the $20 bill will now not come out until 2028. The $10 bill and the $50 bill will come out with new features beforehand. So, the answer is: It is my responsibility now to focus on what is the issue of counterfeiting and the security features. The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretary’s down the road.”
Peep the preliminary design of the $20 Tubman bill via the Twitter embed below.
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We obtained a preliminary design of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill. The Trump administration recently delayed its release. https://t.co/Jfnr0rUREt
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 14, 2019
When Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) asked Mnuchin if he supports Tubman being on the $20 bill, he responded: “I’ve made no decision as it relates to that.”
The Tubman bill was announced in April 2016, an Obama administration initiative. Mnuchi said the redesign will be postponed until at least 2026, and the bill itself will not roll out until 2028. Until then, $20 bills with former President Andrew Jackson’s face will continue to circulate.
The redesign was scheduled to be unveiled in 2020 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.
During the 2016 presidential race, Trump called the redesign “pure political correctness” and suggested Tubman be added to the $2 bill.
According to a New York Times report, work on the new $20 note began before Trump took office. The bill was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and obtained by the publication from a former Treasury Department official. “The new image depicts Tubman in a dark coat with a wide collar and a white scarf. This preliminary design was completed in late 2016,” the outlet writes.
In a recent interview Mnuchin denied that technical issues were the cause for the delay.
“Let me assure you, this speculation that we’ve slowed down the process is just not the case,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of the G-20 finance ministers meeting in Japan.
Monica Crowley, a spokeswoman for Mnuchin, added that the release of the new $20 note remains on schedule with original timeline of 2030. She did not confirm whether the bill will feature Tubman.
“The scheduled release (printing) of the $20 bill is on a timetable consistent with the previous administration,” she said in a statement.
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