WASHINGTON: An image of Donald Trump will soon appear in some US passports, officials said Tuesday, shattering another norm as the president aggressively puts his personal stamp on government institutions.
There are few precedents anywhere in the world, let alone in a democracy, of displaying sitting leaders' pictures in passports, and Trump would be the first sitting US president featured in Americans' travel documents.
The State Department said it would offer the limited-edition passport to mark this year's 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
The department -- which has historically viewed itself as outside US partisan politics -- posted on social media a sample of the passport, which features a stern-looking Trump superimposed over the Declaration of July 4, 1776. Trump's signature -- in gold -- lies underneath.
A second limited-edition passport showed a historic painting of the US Founding Fathers.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US passports to commemorate this historic occasion," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Another department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Trump-themed passports would only be available at in-person appointments in Washington "for as long as there is availability."
The passports would come at no additional cost, the official said.
It was not immediately clear if passport applicants could refuse the Trump picture, although the majority of Americans seeking passports do so through local post offices, which would not provide the special edition.
'Indulging Trump's vanity'
Lawmakers of the rival Democratic Party criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the passport initiative.
"Secretary Rubio should spend more time convincing his boss to end his war of choice in Iran, and less on wasting American tax dollars indulging Trump's vanity," the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Democrats wrote on X.
Among countries that carry artwork in their passports, nearly all feature either historical imagery or nature.
Even North Korea, which plasters pictures of leader Kim Jong Un across the country and demands reverence, does not feature him in the passport, which instead depicts sacred Mount Paektu.
Current US passports depict multiple scenes from the country's history such as the Moon landing along with historic sites including the Statue of Liberty.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has slapped his name and image on government institutions in an unprecedented way.
Several government buildings in the capital have put up banners of the president, while officials have added his name onto the Kennedy Center for the performing arts and the dismantled US Institute of Peace.
Last month the Treasury Department also said Trump's signature would soon start appearing on the dollar bill, in another first.
Britain and other Commonwealth countries feature on their currency the likeness of King Charles III, who is a head of state without direct involvement in politics.
The king met with Trump on Tuesday during a state visit to Washington.
Only around half of Americans hold valid passports, less than in many other Western nations, and people in states that voted for Trump are less likely to travel internationally, according to surveys.
