What the bill does
On December 9, 2025, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced S.3408, titled the Change Corruption Act. The bill would prohibit a sitting president — and any living former president — from appearing on any U.S. currency during their lifetime.
The core operative text is simple: "No United States currency may feature the likeness of a living or sitting President."
The bill's immediate target was the Treasury Department's proposed Trump $1 commemorative coin for the semiquincentennial. As Cortez Masto put it: "Our legislation would codify this country's long-standing tradition of not putting living presidents on American coins. Congress must pass it without delay."
Who introduced it and who cosponsors it
Lead sponsors: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
Original cosponsors: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
Coin World reported the cosponsor list at introduction, citing direct Congress.gov tracking. All cosponsors are Democrats — no Republicans signed on.
The December 1 letter that preceded the bill
On December 1, 2025 — eight days before introducing S.3408 — Merkley and Cortez Masto led seven Senate Democrats in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling on him to reject the proposed designs for the Semiquincentennial dollar coin featuring Trump.
The other senators signing the December 1 letter: Sens. Wyden, Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
The letter text included: "American lawmakers throughout history have reaffirmed the time-honored tradition of not circulating U.S. currency with images of currently elected officials. For centuries, minting sitting presidents on U.S. currency has been avoided to prevent the appearance that the U.S. is a monarchy or subject to a cult of personality."
What the senators said publicly
Merkley: "President Trump's self-celebrating maneuvers are authoritarian actions worthy of dictators like North Korea's Kim Jong Un, not the United States of America."
Cortez Masto: "While monarchs put their faces on coins, America has never had and never will have a king."
Wyden: "Donald Trump will stop at nothing to steal the spotlight, and that includes putting an image of himself on a U.S. coin."
Blumenthal: "President Trump seeks to disobey the law and betray our American values by having his portrait minted on U.S. currency."
Procedural prospects
The Hill noted: "Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is unlikely to schedule the bill for a vote on the Senate floor anytime soon."
That assessment is roughly correct as of June 2026 — the bill has not advanced beyond introduction. But its existence is significant for two reasons:
It puts senators on record. Even if it doesn't pass, the bill creates a position-taking moment that future midterm campaigns can reference.
It pairs with the House version. Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced a parallel House bill — see H.R.5741.
How it relates to the $250 bill
The Change Corruption Act targets the $1 coin specifically (and broadly all currency), not H.R.1761. But its operative language — "No United States currency may feature the likeness of a living or sitting President" — would, if enacted, also block the $250 bill.
See also: the June 2026 Senate Democratic probe targeting the $250 bill specifically.