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Biden administration resumes efforts to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill

The initiative began during the Obama administration, but hadn't moved forward under former President Donald Trump.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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Abrar Al-Heeti
$20 bill

Harriet Tubman could soon replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. 

Getty Images

After being announced under the Obama administration and then stalled under former President Donald Trump , efforts to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the front of new $20 bills are getting a new look from President Joe Biden's Treasury Department, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a Monday press briefing.  

"It's important that our notes, our money ... reflect the history and diversity of our country, and Harriet Tubman's image gracing the new $20 note would certainly reflect that," Psaki said. She added that the administration is "exploring ways to speed up that effort, but any specifics would, of course, come from the Department of Treasury."

The Treasury Department didn't immediately respond to a request for additional information. 

Tubman would replace President Andrew Jackson as the face of the bills, but his image would remain on the back, according to the 2016 announcement. The New York Times said it obtained preliminary designs of the note from before Trump's presidency showing Tubman on the front and a statue of Jackson on the other side.

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