Congress killed the penny — now it's coming for the 13-cent nickel

Lawmakers from both parties are pressing the Trump administration to look at changing how the nickel is made, after Congress already moved to end the penny. The House and Senate each passed the bipartisan Common Cents Act unanimously earlier this year, but President Donald Trump has not yet signed it. Separately, the Treasury Department said last December that the U.S. Mint would stop striking pennies, which then cost more than triple their face value to produce, according to Fox News.

The bill also tells Treasury to study whether cheaper materials could replace the current nickel recipe of 25% nickel and 75% copper. House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, a Michigan Republican, told Fox News Digital that making a five-cent coin costs 13 cents, and she argued her measure would lower that expense without changing how people use the coin.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican who led the bill in the Senate, pointed to shoppers' growing reliance on credit cards, debit cards and stablecoins instead of cash. She likened the penny to the retired half-cent coin and hopes a cheaper nickel stays economically viable.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →