State Department Expanding Access to New Passports Featuring Trump’s Image

The U.S. State Department said on July 30 that it would expand access to commemorative passports featuring an image of President Donald Trump in response to “overwhelming demand” from the public.

The department’s 27 passport agencies nationwide will start offering the special travel documents next month. They previously had only been available at the Washington passport office for in-person applicants.

Passport offices in Centennial, Colorado; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; New Orleans; New York; and Stamford, Connecticut, will offer the passport during one-day special events on Aug. 8. Offices in other locations will begin offering it in the following weeks, according to the department’s website.

Those who want the special passport must apply in person on the day specified on the department’s passport website. Those wanting a traditional passport must apply on different days.

The “Patriot Passport” was first unveiled in April and billed as a limited-edition passport to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

Its interior page features a picture of Trump and his signature, while the inside back cover displays the “Declaration of Independence” painting by John Trumbull.

“Since its release in celebration of 250 years of American independence, the commemorative passport has generated extraordinary public interest,” the department said in a statement. “The Department of State is responding by expanding access so Americans across the country can obtain this unique and special document.”

Trump is the first living president featured in the travel document. The only presidents featured in current U.S. passports are in a double-page depiction of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, which includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Other depictions include the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and scenes of the Great Plains, mountains and islands. Current passports also contain quotations from Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on July 15 unveiled the design for a $1 gold coin bearing Trump’s portrait to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.

“Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all,” Bessent said in a post on X.

Last year, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the department would issue new commemorative park passes to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, with the annual passes featuring images of George Washington and Trump, and military passes featuring a photo of Trump saluting the troops.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.