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Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Redesign Postponed

A redesign of the $20 bill that was supposed to feature an image of anti-slavery icon Harriet Tubman will no longer be unveiled in 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress on Wednesday.

Mnuchin said the redesign process had been delayed and the new design will not be revealed until 2028. When asked about teh delay by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, the Treasury Secretary said the primary reason because of counterfeiting issues.

"Based upon this, the $20 bill will now not come out until 2028," Muchin said. "The $10 bill and the $50 bill will come out with new features beforehand. 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."

The government should be able to meet the deadline for the new security feature in 2020, but imagery wouldn't come up until "most likely 2026," Mnuchin confirmed. Newly redesigned $50 and $100 bills are scheduled to be released before the $20 bill will be announced.

The redesigned $20 bill was scheduled to be revealed to the public on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the United States. A design featuring Tubman's image was announced by former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in 2016 after the Treasury Department sought input from the public.

President Donald Trump has called the redesigned $20 bill featuring Tubman as "pure political correctness" and proposed to instead place her portrait on the $2 bill at an NBC News town hall.

Photo: Getty Images


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