The Treasury secretary’s noncommittal comments Thursday may not be the only sign that the Trump administration is backing away from the Obama-era plan to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.
The Treasury Department has been taking down links to news and information about the Tubman plan from its website, causing at least one government watcher to argue that Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s latest remarks are less an indication of indifference than a signal that the $20 bill change will be rejected.
The Treasury Department is also redesigning its website.
Tubman, an escaped slave, became one of the nation’s most famous abolitionists, helping lead dozens of people to freedom, then serving as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army during the Civil War.
The World War II-era Liberty ship S.S. Harriet Tubman was the first Navy vessel to be named for a black woman and was built in South Portland.
A search of the Treasury Department’s website as recently as Friday found that 20 of the 21 links listed for stories and information on the Tubman proposal are dead, with only the 16-month-old announcement of the proposal by the previous secretary remaining.
Searches of the department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing website turned up only the original announcement, as well, and U.S. Currency Education Program website had no results for a search of “Tubman.”
Mnuchin hedged on the topic of putting Tubman on the $20 bill Thursday, telling cable news station CNBC that the proposal “is not something I’m focused on at the moment.”
The New York Times reported Thursday that the department has taken down its Modern Money website, which had been set up under Obama to highlight currency redesign plans. It’s not uncommon for new administrations to change or remove web pages that feature pictures or comments from representatives of the previous administrations, however.
“I found the Tubman material missing on the Aug. 9. I was looking for changes or updates related to currency security on multiple Treasury sites, when I noted that Tubman-related links were dead,” said a private industry science and technology policy analyst looking into administration changes to science-related websites.
“Searches of Treasury and related Bureau of Engraving sites revealed that all but former Secretary [Jack] Lew’s 2016 announcement regarding the proposed Tubman $20 had been deleted from online materials,” the analyst continued. “Secretary Mnuchin’s lack of complete candor and commitment about the status of the Tubman $20 made me suspicious that Treasury’s prior actions in taking down Tubman-related information possibly reflected a more deliberate and quiet change in policy.”
On the campaign trail last year, Trump called Tubman “fantastic” but dismissed the proposal of placing her face on the $20 bill as “ pure political correctness.” Trump has made clear his fondness for Andrew Jackson, who is currently depicted on the $20 bill.
