Treasury Secretary Mnuchin won't commit to putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill

When asked Thursday about the Obama administration's plan to place Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he hasn't made a decision on implementing the proposal, because "right now, we've got a lot more important issues to focus on."

Mnuchin, who did not elaborate on what those important issues are, made his comments during an interview with CNBC; he said when he makes up his mind on the matter, it will be because of security concerns, not whose picture is on the bill. "The No. 1 issue why we change the currency is to stop counterfeiting," he said. "So, the issues of why we change it will be primarily related to what we need to do for security purposes. ... That's what I'm focused on for the moment."

In April 2016, former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced his plan to put historical figures on the back of some bills, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the $5, and to have Tubman on the front of the $20 and Andrew Jackson on the other side. President Trump is a big fan of Jackson — he has the former president's portrait up in the Oval Office and has compared himself to Jackson multiple times, praising the controversial president in speeches and characterizing him as a "very tough person" with "a big heart." After Lew announced the change last April, Trump called Tubman "fantastic," but said it would be "pure political correctness" to put the abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy on the $20 bill.

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