The proposed $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump has been presented as part of the national observances for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But the typical years-long process to approve new currency- done with security, legal, and practical concerns in mind- is being accelerated for this project. At the center of the tension is the now-former director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Patricia Solimene who reportedly resisted efforts to fast-track the project. According to reports, her concerns involved the established requirements for U.S. currency design, including that:
1. Current federal law prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
2. A $250 denomination has not been authorized.
3. The design of a new banknote requires testing, security features and coordination with stakeholders (e.g. all federal bureaus involved, Secret Service and others that combat counterfeiting, banks, credit unions, ATM, vending, currency counting, cash register, and ticket machine manufacturers).
Solimene was the first woman BEP director in its 162-year history, coming from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Previous to this she had spent 24 years in the military as an Army Colonel and in a highly classified Joint Special Operations Command, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans.
Of her abrupt April 27 job reassignment by senior Treasury Department officials, Solimene said in a farewell email to colleagues obtained by the Washington Post that she did not choose to leave her role as Bureau of Engraving and Printing director. Solimene asserted that she “never sacrificed the values or character of myself or the organization and always prioritized the U.S. Currency Program and the value each employee brings to the mission…The buck stopped here.”
There is an irony in this situation. A career civil servant’s role is to remain apolitical and to ensure that established protocols and procedures are followed. Yet Patricia Solimene was reportedly reassigned from her position as BEP director while upholding the very standards she was entrusted to maintain.
Photo by Blue Arauz
