US senators oppose plan to feature Donald Trump on commemorative passports

Secretary of State Marco Rubio to halt a plan to put President Donald Trump’s face on U.S. passports.

The news was confirmed after a letter first shared by a group of democratic senators with CNBC.

The senators claim that US President Donald Trump has made a point of putting his name and likeness on things, including currency, national park passes, and banners on federal buildings in his second term, much of which has been tied to America’s 250th anniversary.

The senators say the passport plan amounts to a “vehicle for personal promotion.”

President Donald Trump’s face should not be printed on a special edition U.S. passport, a group led by Democratic senators said in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

The group, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in the letter shared first with CNBC, called on Rubio to halt plans to issue a limited number of passports featuring Trump to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“The U.S. passport has never — and should not now — feature an image of a sitting U.S. president. We ask you to halt these plans given the anti-democratic impact this decision will have,” the group wrote.

The letter was signed by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats.

The State Department announced via X in April that it would release the limited edition passports and included a “sneak peak,” which featured Trump’s likeness superimposed over the Declaration of Independence.

Trump, with support from his congressional allies, has made a point of putting his name and likeness on a variety of things in his second term.

His image appears on the 2026 America the Beautiful National Parks annual pass and will appear on a 250th anniversary gold coin, while another effort is afoot to get his face on a special edition $1 coin. 

Also in honor of America’s 250th, Trump’s signature will appear on dollar bills, the first time a sitting president will leave such an imprint on paper currency in the history of the U.S. Federal departments around Washington, including Agriculture, Justice and Labor, have hung banners from their facades featuring Trump’s likeness.