Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released information on day 34 of the Trump-Republican shutdown—which Trump and Republicans initiated because of their refusal to negotiate with Democrats to protect health care for millions of Americans. Today’s release highlights the Administration’s narcissistic plans to feature Trump’s own image on a new $1 coin while millions of Americans go without pay or essential benefits.

Trump’s Vanity Projects in the Middle of a Shutdown

This week, more than 45 million Americans are facing the loss of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, leaving food banks and food pantries scrambling to provide assistance. Additionally, at least 1.4 million federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay, while the Trump Administration has threatened to fire federal employees en masse, starting with sending layoff notices to about 4,200 employees in various agencies. Yet, instead of working to reopen the government and restore critical services, the Trump Administration is advancing a proposal to mint a $1 coin bearing Donald Trump’s face. Senior officials have even circulated mock-ups of the design online, promoting it as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The hypocrisy could not be more glaring. As families lose the very benefits that help them put food on the table, this Administration is pouring time and taxpayer resources into glorifying a president who has turned his back on working families. It is outrageous, it is lawless, and it perfectly captures the misplaced priorities of this Administration.

Breaking the Law and Breaking Tradition

Let’s be clear, the Trump Administration’s latest stunt isn’t just a violation of federal law, it’s a violation of American values. Our founders rejected kings and monarchs because they understood the danger of elevating one man above the people. That’s why, since 1866, Congress has passed numerous laws that prohibit issuing coins that bear the image of a living president or any president who has been deceased for fewer than two years.

These safeguards exist for a reason, to protect our democracy from exactly this kind of self-worship and abuse of power. Yet here we are, with Donald Trump dragging our country backward and creating a government that glorifies his own image, even as the nation suffers through a shutdown. This is just the latest in Trump's self-aggrandizement series. This summer, Trump used the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary to celebrate his 79th birthday, while carrying out deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits and providing massive tax breaks for the wealthy in his Big Ugly Bill.

The Trump–Republican shutdown is on track to be the longest shutdown in U.S. history, with no end in sight as Republicans continue to refuse to come to the table. While Democrats remain ready to negotiate and reopen the government, Donald Trump and Republicans are fixated on political stunts and personal gain instead of addressing the needs of the American people. Families, workers, and small businesses deserve leaders who put them first, not a president who treats the government as a tool to promote his own image.

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