Donald Trump tells the Treasury to stop making penny
President Donald Trump has told the Treasury Department to stop making pennies, citing production costs.
WASHINGTON – Republican lawmakers in Congress are moving forward with President Donald Trump’s plans to end penny production.
The House Financial Services Committee, which oversees banking, insurance and other related matters, advanced a bill called the “Common Cents Act” on July 23, by a vote of 35-13.
The bill officially calls Trump’s February order to direct the Treasury to halt penny production and rounds cash transactions to the nearest five cents. It was featured by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Michigan, Robert Garcia, Sen. D-California, Cynthia Ramis, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of D-New York, R-Wyoming.
” Common Cents Act McClain, chairman of the House Republican Congress, said in a statement: It’s time to modernize currency policies and bring common sense. General cents – To Washington. ”
There will not be much action taken against the bill until they return home as lawmakers go out for the annual month of summer holidays and the Senate immediately goes to theirs.
Trump has previously considered one-cent coins as “waste” and has argued that it is expensive to produce them. A 2024 annual report from the US Mint found that the cost of making a penny was 3.69 cents.
This is the latest on pushing to end penny production.
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A Republican Tennessee lawmaker who is on the House Financial Services Committee originally expressed concern about the “Common St. Act,” but later supported the initiative.
Tennessee has the only manufacturer of Penny Blanks. Blank is a flat metal disk that will eventually become a coin, but it claims that it will cost a personal cost to finish penny production, according to Kevin Morrison, mayor of Green County, Tennessee, where the blank is produced.
In a July 23rd House Financial Services Committee markup, Rose argued that eliminating pennies “without a well-made plan” to phase out a cent coin would not achieve the goal of “improving the costs and efficiency of US currency.”
“As of the moment, it doesn’t provide the state, retailers or consumers with time to prepare for a penniless economy,” he said. “We need to make it responsibly and thoughtful.”
However, Rose ultimately said he would vote in favor of the act after gaining relief from his colleagues that his concerns would be addressed.
What is the next step in the bill in Congress?
An influential House Rules Committee must set conditions on how the bill is discussed, amended and voted by members of the House, and then assume the bill.
It is still unknown when the bill passes the committee as House members left Washington, D.C. for summer holidays.
But the bill faces a tough battle in the Senate as seven Democrats join Republicans, break the 60-vote threshold and move on to the final vote (assuming that all Republicans support the bill). Republicans have a majority of 53 seats in the upper chamber.
“This bill will be passed quickly in the Senate,” Gillibrand said in a statement.
Lummis told USA Today “we will advance moving the Common Cents Act towards the Senate passing to continue the partnership between Senator Gillibrand and the Trump administration.”
When will the government stop production of penny?
The government issued the final order for Penny Blanks in May – the first step to end production of one-cent coins, a Treasury spokesman told USA Today that month.
“The US Mint will continue to manufacture penny while stocks of penny blanks exist,” the spokesman said at the time.
It is unknown when the inventory will disappear. However, the Louisville Courier Journal reported that the Treasury will phase out penny production in early 2026.
Contributions: Melina Kahn, USA Today
