Department of the Treasury

The US State Department will make a visa bond program permanent, requiring applicants from 50 countries, mostly in Africa, to post bonds of up to $20,000 for B1 and B2 visas to reduce overstays. Critics argue the policy deters legitimate travel, while officials defend it as necessary for national security.

The Trump administration launched 'Gold Eagle,' a federal clearinghouse managed by the Treasury Department to share AI-driven cybersecurity threat information between government and private sector entities. The initiative involves collaboration with agencies like CISA, DHS, and DoD, as well as open-source software providers and critical infrastructure operators, aiming to identify and patch vulnerabilities using AI tools.

President Donald Trump shared an image of a new $100 bill featuring his signature, following the Treasury Department's announcement to include a sitting president's signature on U.S. currency for the first time. The Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated this change commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States, while efforts to place Trump's image on other memorabilia and a proposed $250 bill face legislative challenges.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the Senate Finance Committee, supporting the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and urging passage of the Clarity Act. The reserve, established via executive order, holds 328,372 BTC acquired through criminal forfeitures, and the BITCOIN Act proposes authorizing the Treasury to purchase up to one million bitcoin over five years.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has initiated a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the Trump administration's transfer of student loan servicing responsibilities to the Department of the Treasury.

President Trump postponed an executive order that would have established a 90-day voluntary testing regime for frontier AI models, citing concerns about harming U.S. AI industry competition with China. The order would have involved multiple federal agencies including the NSA and Treasury Department in evaluating new AI models before public release. The decision represents a pivot toward prioritizing industry competitiveness over AI safety measures.