Last June, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that the next version of the $10 bill would feature a woman, effectively demoting Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton fans were aghast at this announcement, and argued that Andrew Jackson, who currently graces the $20, should be displaced from his bill instead. Now, it appears that Hamilton won't be going anywhere, as Lew is preparing to announce plans to change the $20 bill.
Hamilton's recent surge in popularity, due in part to the Broadway smash-hit musical Hamilton, helped to save his place on the bill.
"When we started this conversation not quite a year ago, it wasn't clear to me that millions of Americans were going to weigh in with their ideas," he told CNBC. "We're not just talking about one bill. We're talking about the $5, the $10, and the $20. We're not just talking about one picture on one bill. We're talking about using the front and the back of the bill to tell an exciting set of stories."
Along those lines, Lew also plans to announce this week that Andrew Jackson -- a less beloved former president whose face graces the front of the $20 bill -- will be removed in favor of a female representing the struggle for racial equality, according to the government source.
The soonest the redesigned $20 would be released is 2030.
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