Trump’s Portrait to Appear on Limited-Edition U.S. Passports for 250th Anniversary

Key facts

• The State Department plans a limited run of 25,000 Trump-emblazoned passports.
• The inside cover will show Trump’s scowling portrait from his second inaugural superimposed over the Declaration of Independence, with his signature in gold.
• The redesign is part of the America250 celebration, also including a Grand Prix race on the National Mall and a UFC fight at the White House.
• Current passport design, in use since 2021, features Francis Scott Key and the Star-Spangled Banner; no president’s portrait appears except Mount Rushmore.
• No modern U.S. passport has featured a sitting president’s image, and no foreign passport includes the head of state.
• The Treasury Department is also producing coins with Trump’s image, and the National Park Service is adding his face to park passes.
• California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked the redesign by releasing fake license plates and driver’s licenses featuring his own face.
• The passports will be available only at the Washington Passport Agency starting in July, for any American citizen while supplies last.

A Presidential Portrait on the Inside Cover

The State Department is close to finalizing a radical redesign of the U.S. passport that will place a picture of President Donald Trump on the inside cover, according to two sources with knowledge of the plan. Images shared with The Bulwark show a scowling Trump, taken from his second inaugural portrait, superimposed over the Declaration of Independence, with the president’s signature rendered in gold. The back cover features a detail from John Trumbull’s painting Declaration of Independence, a more traditional patriotic image. The redesign is ostensibly part of a larger celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, branded as America250. The State Department plans a limited run of 25,000 such passports, which are still awaiting final approval, according to a government official who provided color photographs of the design. The passports are expected to launch in July, coinciding with the anniversary, and will be available only at the Washington Passport Agency for any American citizen who applies, while supplies last.

Branding the Federal Estate

The passport redesign is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to imprint the president’s name and likeness on government properties. The Treasury Department is preparing to produce a $1 coin in general circulation featuring Trump’s image, as well as an “as large as possible” commemorative gold coin. The National Park Service has already begun emblazoning Trump’s face on its park passes. Both were justified as part of the 250th anniversary celebration. During his second term, Trump has taken aggressive steps to put his name on a host of federal assets. His signature is set to appear on future U.S. currency, huge banners with his face have appeared on federal buildings, and he has created a new website for prescription drugs called TrumpRx.gov. He has also announced a new “Trump class” of battleships and placed his name on both the U.S. Institute of Peace and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, which is now slated to close for two years for renovation.

A Break With Historical Precedent

The decision to include the president’s image on the passport is unprecedented, a professor at Georgetown University and an expert on the history of passports. “No modern U.S. passport has featured the image of a sitting president, and no foreign passport has featured the head of state of any country,” Kolla said. While passports once bore the signatures of the officials in whose name they were issued, American passports are issued in the name of the secretary of state, not the president. The current passport design, in use since 2021, features on the inside cover a depiction of Francis Scott Key observing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, along with the closing lines of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The back cover shows the Earth, the moon, and the Voyager spacecraft, with a quote from nineteenth-century author and activist Anna Julia Cooper. With the exception of an image of Mount Rushmore, no president’s portrait appears in the current design.

Political Satire and a Trolling Response

California Governor Gavin Newsom has seized on the passport redesign to mock the president. In a series of posts on X, Newsom’s office released mock-ups of driver’s licenses and license plates featuring his own face, written in all-caps mimicking Trump’s style. One post targeted Fox News, a Trump favorite, saying, “WOW. FAKE NEWS FOX IS LOSING THEIR MINDS OVER OUR BEAUTIFUL 175TH ANNIVERSARY DRIVER’S LICENSE. SAD!” Newsom’s team also “announced” limited-edition license plates in honor of Fox host Sean Hannity, claiming they were the “most beautiful plates we’ve ever made.” The trolling campaign underscores the political polarization surrounding the passport redesign, which critics see as an unnecessary personalization of a government document.

The America250 Celebration and Broader Context

The passport launch is part of a broader America250 celebration that includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June. The State Department’s spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, confirmed that the specially designed passports will include the same security features that make U.S. passports “the most secure documents in the world.” The cover has been slightly altered, with “United States of America” enlarged and placed above the crest, and the back cover features an American flag with “250” centered between the 13 stars of the 1777 flag. The redesign comes as Trump has aggressively pushed for the Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship—including a passport—before voters could cast a ballot. This connection has raised concerns among voting rights advocates, who see the passport redesign as part of a broader effort to tie citizenship documentation to voter identification.

Open Questions and Next Steps

The new passport design is still awaiting final approval, according to the source who provided images to The Bulwark. The State Department has not yet announced an official release date, though the launch is expected to coincide with the July anniversary. The limited run of 25,000 passports raises questions about demand and availability, as the documents will only be issued at the Washington Passport Agency. Critics have questioned the cost of the redesign and the use of taxpayer funds for what they see as a self-aggrandizing project. The White House has not commented on the cost, and the State Department has not provided details on how the design was chosen or whether it will be permanent. The broader America250 celebration, including the Grand Prix and UFC events, has also drawn scrutiny for its potential cost and security implications.

A Symbol of an Expanding Presidential Brand

The passport redesign represents a significant expansion of the presidential brand onto a document that has traditionally been a symbol of national identity, not individual leadership. By placing his image on a document used by millions of Americans, Trump is blurring the line between the office and the person, a move that experts say has no parallel in modern history. The limited run of 25,000 passports may be a test balloon for a broader change, or it may remain a commemorative novelty. As the America250 celebrations unfold, the passport redesign will likely remain a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over the use of government resources for personal branding. With other federal properties already bearing Trump’s name and image, the passport is just the latest canvas for a president who has made his likeness a central part of his legacy.

The bottom line

• The State Department plans to issue 25,000 limited-edition passports featuring Trump’s portrait on the inside cover, part of the America250 celebration.
• The redesign breaks with historical precedent: no modern U.S. passport has included a sitting president’s image, and no foreign passport features a head of state.
• The move is part of a broader trend of Trump placing his name and likeness on federal properties, including coins, park passes, and buildings.
• California Governor Gavin Newsom has mocked the redesign with satirical mock-ups of driver’s licenses and license plates featuring his own face.
• The passports will be available only at the Washington Passport Agency starting in July, while supplies last, and still await final approval.
• The redesign has drawn criticism for its cost and for blurring the line between national identity and personal branding.