WASHINGTON, D.C. — The State Department is preparing a limited release of commemorative U.S. passports celebrating America's 250th anniversary that will feature a picture of President Donald Trump. Between 25,000 and 30,000 of the new passports will be available to applicants at the Washington, D.C., passport office beginning shortly before July 4.
The concept, including a rendering of Trump's visage, had been under consideration for months before being approved late Monday. Trump would be the first living president to be featured in a U.S. passport travel document.
The commemorative passport will display Trump's photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. flag, with his signature rendered in gold. The cover will display "United States of America" in bold gold print at the top and "Passport" at the bottom, reversing the standard cover design. A separate page features a painting of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence.
"These passports will feature customized artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the U.S. passport the most secure documents in the world," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
The commemorative passports will be issued without any additional fee and will be the default document for people applying in person at the Washington Passport Agency. Applicants applying online or at other passport-issuing locations will be able to receive the standard passport design. The State Department said it would release a limited number of the documents for the occasion but did not confirm how many would be issued. The commemorative passports form part of the administration's America250 celebrations, which include a Grand Prix race on the National Mall and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn.
Current U.S. passports feature a double-page depiction of Mount Rushmore showing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, along with depictions of the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, as well as scenes of the Great Plains, mountains and islands. They also contain quotations from Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower. The Next Generation passport was introduced in 2021 and includes illustrations of American landscapes and historical events across its pages.