The US Treasury has decided to put African American abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the front of the new $20 bill, replacing former president Andrew Jackson, who will be moved to the back of the bill, Treasury officials said today.
Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the new $10 bill, officials said, after the Treasury department encountered fierce opposition to its initial plan to remove the founding father to make way for a woman to appear on the paper currency.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will announce decisions regarding several bills on today, officials said.
The Treasury Department hopes to release the design concept for the new bills by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the United States. Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported that the soonest the new $20 bill would be issued is 2030. But a Treasury spokesman called that speculation "baseless," saying that Treasury is working with other departments to expedite the process and that it's too early to say when the release date will be.