Senate Democrats Demand Government Stop Minting Gold Coin With Trump On It

Two Democratic senators have written to the U.S. Mint to urge the institution to halt production of gold coins with President Donald Trump on them, citing the possibility that the gold is from cartel-owned mines.

Last month, a federal advisory panel with members handpicked by Trump approved a design for a 24-karat gold coin featuring the president’s likeness on the obverse. The coin is being minted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. Approval of the coin came amid internal discussions about putting Trump on a new $250 bill for the occasion, despite a U.S. law prohibiting living people from appearing on U.S. currency.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Mint Director Paul Hollis dated Thursday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) called on the Mint to stop producing the coin.

“We request that the U.S. Mint halt all production of the 250th anniversary 24-karat Trump gold coin and conduct a public supply chain audit to ensure coins are not composed of illicit cartel-linked gold,” Warren and Wyden wrote, who are the ranking members of the Senate Banking and Finance committees, respectively. “We have previously raised concerns about the Mint’s plan to release a 24-karat gold coin featuring President Trump’s image for the country’s 250th anniversary and how it will in any way benefit the American public as our nation confronts an affordability crisis of President Trump’s own making.”

The senators listed six questions to be answered by June 18, including inquiries about where the coin is in the production process and what due diligence was conducted to ascertain the origin of the gold being used.

“It is troubling enough that the Mint has developed a coin bearing the President’s image, which is more befitting a monarchy than a democracy,” the senators wrote. “At the very least, the Mint should ensure that a coin intended to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary is not made of gold linked to exploitation and criminal activity.”

Last week, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) predicted that despite the law barring living people on U.S. currency, the Trump administration will do so anyway.

Do I expect them to follow the law? No, I don’t,” Smith said. “I mean, they’re supposedly asking us this session to change the Department of Defense to the Department of War. But again, they’ve already done that. So no, I’m sure Trump will print up his $250 bill just like he put his name on the money.”

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