Where the bill actually is
H.R.1761 was introduced on February 27, 2025 and referred the same day to the House Committee on Financial Services. As of June 2026, that is still where it sits. The bill has had no hearing, no markup, no committee vote, and no recorded floor action. CBS News summarized the status plainly: "It has since stalled out, with no actions since then."
In congressional procedure, a bill in this state is technically alive — bills don't die until the Congress that introduced them ends — but it is not advancing.
Who controls whether it moves
The House Financial Services Committee is chaired by Rep. French Hill (R-AR). For H.R.1761 to advance, Hill would need to schedule it for a hearing or markup. He has not done so. According to Newsweek, Rep. Wilson's office has said publicly: "Congressman Wilson and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Hill have spoken about moving the $250 bill legislation forward multiple times."
Time magazine reported a similar quote: a Wilson spokesperson said Wilson has spoken with Chair Hill "on multiple occasions" about moving the bill. An NBC News source told the network the legislation has been "greenlit for a committee hearing," though no hearing has been formally scheduled as of this writing.
Why no Democratic cosponsors changes the math
All 16 current cosponsors of H.R.1761 are Republicans. There is no Democratic cosponsor. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries publicly stated he is a "hard no" on the bill, framing it as out of step with the meaning of the July 4th anniversary.
A committee can still move a bill on party-line support, but a bill with zero minority cosponsors signals that even a successful House passage would face a hostile environment in the Senate — which has no companion legislation at all. Committee chairs weigh that math when allocating floor time.
The legal obstacle the committee would have to address
Beyond politics, the bill has a real legal problem: under 31 U.S.C. § 5114 — the so-called Thayer Amendment of 1866 — no living person may appear on U.S. currency. H.R.1761 would amend that statute to create an exception for current and former Presidents.
Newsweek quoted former Bureau of Engraving and Printing Director Larry R. Felix making the point in technical terms: a $250 note is "not statutorily authorized" and Treasury would need "explicit direction from lawmakers" before any production could begin.
What unstalled would look like
The clearest indicators that H.R.1761 is moving would be:
A scheduled hearing. Committee chairs publish hearing notices in advance. A notice listing H.R.1761 would be a major signal.
A markup date. Markup means the committee is preparing to amend and vote on the bill. This is the step that distinguishes "alive in committee" from "actually advancing."
A Senate companion. Any senator introducing identical legislation would mean the bill has a path through the upper chamber — currently it has none.
New developments in the Treasury story. The Washington Post broke the Treasury preparation story on May 28, 2026; further reporting on internal pressure or design progress could change the political calculus.
The honest read
A bill that has sat in committee for 16 months without action, with no Democratic cosponsors and no Senate companion, in a closely divided Congress, is unlikely to advance without a specific external catalyst. Treasury Department preparation is real, but Treasury preparation is not the same as congressional action — and only congressional action makes the $250 bill legal.