See the Biden-era ‘DEI’ coins Bessent scrapped as Trump team restores patriotic 250th designs

FIRST ON FOX Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent scrapped Biden-era coin designs intended to celebrate the th anniversary of America s founding after the Trump administration discovered they did not feature a single Founding Father but instead emphasized diversity equity and inclusion DEI themes The new Semiquincentennial Quarter designs will celebrate American history and the founding of our great nation U S Treasurer Brandon Beach described Fox News Digital Thursday While the Biden administration and Secretary Yellen remained focused on DEI and Critical Race Theory policies the Trump administration is dedicated to fostering prosperity and patriotism We have no doubt these new designs will be wildly popular with the American people The U S Mint did not publicly release designs of the Biden-era quarter coins ahead of Bessent axing their planned rollout with Fox News Digital obtaining specific images of all the quarters Trump signed a law at the end of his first term authorizing the creation of up to five new quarters and a dollar coin to honor the th anniversary of America's founding in July wj was spearheaded by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee The Wall Street Journal revealed TRUMP REVEALS ARC DE TRIOMPHE-STYLE MONUMENT FOR AMERICA S TH ANNIVERSARY The committee approved five themes for the coins including the Declaration of Independence the Constitution abolition suffrage and civil rights the Journal disclosed which included specific photos of the Biden-era coins but not all five The Treasury secretary has final sign-off on the coin designs Former Secretary Janet Yellen approved the coins' designs for before leaving office according to the outlet AMERICAN HISTORY WON'T BE DISPLAYED 'IN A WOKE MANNER' AT SMITHSONIAN TRUMP SAYSFox News Digital obtained images of the now-scrapped quarters and uncovered the one remembering the abolition of slavery displayed arms locked in handcuffs while current the chains while another quarter focused on women's suffrage proved arms holding up a what appeared to be a concrete slab with the inscription Liberty Equality Justice for Women and SUFFRAGE while the civil rights coin indicated depictions of people linking arms with the inscription We shall overcome The quarter aimed to honor the Declaration of Independence demonstrated the Liberty Bell while the quarter honoring the Constitution depicted an allegorical Lady Liberty LIBERTY AND UNITY WHAT AMERICA S TH ANNIVERSARY ASKS OF US TODAYNone of the coins from the Biden-era depicted a Founding Father though one side of the abolition coin depicted th century civil rights leader Frederick Douglass Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for comment on the coin change on Thursday evening We re trying to be very sensitive to how people will interpret the themes and designs of the coins one of the members of the coin advisory panel reported the Wall Street Journal of the previous designs They re much more than just money They re things that kids are going to be looking at and grown-ups are going to be looking at The law establishing the creation of the coins noted that the designs must be emblematic of a woman's or women's contribution to the birth of the nation or the Declaration of Independence or any other monumental moments in American history The Trump administration unveiled its version of the quarters Wednesday evening at the U S Mint in Philadelphia which included a much more patriotic tone One coin celebrated the Mayflower Compact showing a pilgrim couple embracing one honoring the Revolutionary War with the depiction of a U S soldier a coin celebrating the Declaration with a characterization of the Liberty Bell and one honoring the U S Constitution with a depiction of Independence Hall in Philadelphia The Treasury also created a coin remembering the end of slavery focusing on Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with the inscription A new nation conceived in liberty over a depiction of a person pulling another person from the arm The new designs come after Trump systematically moved to remove DEI programs across the federal cabinet signing executive orders that directed federal agencies to identify and shut down DEI offices Trump and conservatives have argued DEI practices promote group-based preferences and ideological conformity over individual merit free speech and equal therapy The coin change-up also comes as Democrat lawmakers work to thwart the Trump administration from rolling out Trump coins depicting the president which are also part of the administration widespread efforts to celebrate the nation's semiquincentennial DEMOCRATIC SENATORS MOVE TO BLOCK TRUMP COINS FROM TREASURY DEPARTMENT MINTSens Jeff Merkley D-Ore and Catherine Cortez Masto D-Nev introduced rule earlier in December that would prohibit the federal executive from minting currency that bears the likeness of a living or sitting president While monarchs put their faces on coins America has never had and never will have a king Cortez Masto announced in a press release of the measure Our measure would codify this country s long-standing tradition of not putting living Presidents on American coins Congress must pass it without delay The Treasury Department pointed to a law USC y which grants authority to redesign circulating coins for the semiquincentennial during Senate Democrats are so triggered by the proposed coin celebrating our nation's th anniversary that they are trying to recklessly change law to block it Beach declared of the act The American people deserve a commemorative coin celebrating our great nation While Senate Democrats continue to maintain self-serving motives the Trump Administration is delivering prosperity and patriotism Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this analysis