The Treasury Department’s plan to bump Alexander Hamilton and put a woman’s portrait on the $10 has run into some pretty strong criticism in recent weeks, especially from those who believe it might be better to target another currency portrait — Andrew Jackson’s $20 — instead.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew responded to that criticism, arguing that Americans have “waited long enough” to see a woman’s face on paper money, and that changing the portrait on the $10 is the fastest way to make it happen.

Lew was speaking at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, mainly about Dodd-Frank, when a moderator asked him about pushback from, among others, Hillary Clinton, on the department’s decision.

“I will say that what we meant to do is to trigger a broad public debate,” Lew joked when asked about the pushback against the choice of the $10, “and we have triggered a broad public debate.”