TREASURY SECRETARY: We never said we're taking Alexander Hamilton off our currency
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew made a hint on Friday morning that the founding father will continue to be honored on the United States currency.
"We're not taking Alexander Hamilton off our currency. We never said we were," Lew said in a talk with Politico's Ben White in New York.
"The decision we made is that after 100 years it is time for a woman to be back on our currency, and we can't wait any longer."
But, he said, there a number of ways to do that.
He explained that the redesign is decided on by a panel of experts, and the sequence of bills that are updated is based on "a pretty important criteria - security."
The $10 bill has been next in line for a redesign for several years.
But Lew emphasized that he is committed both to having a woman on the currency and to honoring Alexander Hamilton.
He did not go into further detail, but noted that he works under a life-size portrait of the founding father, and probably reads more about Alexander Hamilton "than a lot of the people that are jumping up and being his defenders."
"He's one of my heroes," Lew said. "He will be fully honored in this decision."