U.S. President Donald Trump with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Beijing, China May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
In late April, the U.S. State Department, under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced that it will be issuing a limited-edition United States passport featuring an image of President Donald Trump inside. But Senate Democrats are voicing their opposition to the plan and attacking it as wildly inappropriate.
A group of mostly Democratic senators, according to CNBC reporter Justin Papp, laid out their concerns in a letter sent to Rubio on Wednesday.
The group of senators was led by Oregon's Jeff Merkley, and other Senate Democrats who signed the letter, Papp reports, included Nevada's Jacky Rosen, Maryland's Chris Van Hollen and Virginia's Tim Kaine. Independent centrist Sen. Angus King of Maine signed it as well; King technically isn't a Democrat, but like another New England senator who doesn't have a party affiliation — self-described "democratic socialist" Bernie Sanders of Vermont — he caucuses with Democrats.
In their letter to Rubio, the senators argued, "The U.S. passport has never — and should not now — feature an image of a sitting U.S. president. We ask you to halt these plans given the anti-democratic impact this decision will have."
Papp notes that Trump, during his second presidency, "has made a point of putting his name and likeness on a variety of things" — including, recently, U.S. passports.
"His image appears on the 2026 America the Beautiful National Parks annual pass and will appear on a 250th anniversary gold coin, while another effort is afoot to get his face on a special edition $1 coin," Papp reports. "Also in honor of America's 250th, Trump’s signature will appear on dollar bills — the first time a sitting president will leave such an imprint on paper currency in the history of the U.S. Federal departments around Washington, including Agriculture, Justice and Labor, have hung banners from their facades featuring Trump's likeness…. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers this Congress have introduced legislation to put his image on Mount Rushmore, rename Dulles International Airport in his honor and declare his birthday a national holiday. And Trump is pressing for a 250-foot 'triumphal arch' to be built near Arlington National Cemetery and a $40 million 'statue garden' of 'American heroes' near the National Mall."
July 4 will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration Independence. It was on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia that the United States' Founding Fathering officially declared American independence from Great Britain, and Trump is using the America 250 celebrations to promote himself. But Democrats are pushing back against Trump's proposals.
In their letter to Rubio, the U.S. senators warned, "Using our nation's semi-quincentennial to elevate the profile of the current president risks turning a unifying national milestone into a vehicle for personal promotion. Proceeding would risk politicizing a document that is central to our national identity and could result in unnecessary and wasteful costs to the American taxpayer."