The Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Plan Has Been Put on the Back Burner

By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer
Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

    Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

    Harriett Tubman won’t be in your wallet anytime soon.

    Despite a 2016 announcement that the abolitionist would be the new face of the $20 bill, the Trump administration has significantly delayed the rollout of the new bills, ensuring that Andrew Jackson will be around at least six years longer than planned.

    Though initially planned to debut in 2020 (100 years after women earned the right to vote), the Tubman $20 bill (and other redesigns) now won’t hit the streets until at least 2026, according to the Treasury Department.

    The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is blaming the delay partially on the fact that the redesigns have not been finalized or approved for circulation. Beyond Tubman’s $20 bill, women’s rights icons Alice Paul and Marian Anderson were to appear on the back of the $10 bill. The $5 bill featuring Martin Luther King, Jr. on the back has also been delayed.

    Donald Trump is a fan of Andrew Jackson. And Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has the final say on all currency redesigns—and has historically shown a reluctance to make the changes a priority.

    “Ultimately we will be looking at this issue,” he said last year. “It’s not something that I’m focused on at the moment.”

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