Mnuchin, speaking to reporters on a video call, said there was a
longstanding schedule to introduce the next $20 bill in 2030,
and decisions regarding its design were years away. He said it
was a "myth" the Trump administration was delaying its
introduction.
"I just want to clarify that we have not changed any of this and
this is something in the distant future," Mnuchin said, adding
he was focused on sophisticated anti-counterfeit technology in
the bills.
The image of Tubman, born into slavery in 1822 and who later
escaped from a Maryland plantation and helped hundreds of slaves
reach freedom, was first proposed for the $20 note in 2016 by
Democratic then-President Barack Obama's last Treasury
secretary, Jack Lew.
Lew's goal was for Tubman to replace former President Andrew
Jackson, who owned slaves, on the $20 bill in 2020.
Republican President Donald Trump derided the idea as a
candidate in 2016, later calling it an example of "pure
political correctness."
Mnuchin told lawmakers https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-currency-tubman/u-s-treasury-backs-away-from-plan-for-harriet-tubman-on-20-bill-next-year-idUSKCN1SS2ZK
last year the 2020 goal could not be met and on Thursday said
the 2030 schedule was set by career Treasury officials due to
the $20 bill's widespread use in automated teller machines. A
Treasury official said the redesign schedule was set in 2015.
The next major currency redesign will be the $10 bill in 2026,
which Mnuchin said would keep the image of Alexander Hamilton,
the first U.S. Treasury secretary, after discussions of changes
prompted "a lot of pushback."
The Treasury chief declined to say whether he personally
supported Tubman's image for the $20 because that decision was
for a future Treasury secretary, even if Trump wins a second
four-year term and Mnuchin serves.
(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Jonathan Oatis and
Lincoln Feast.)
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