Cornelius Newton Bliss, who was acceptable to the divided New York Republican Party, was selected as the secretary of the interior. The position of secretary of war went to Russell A. Alger, a former general who had also served as the governor of Michigan. He was successful, and a new treaty was drafted and approved, but not before McKinley's assassination in 1901. McKinley also appointed the Isthmian Canal Commission, which would eventually play a large role in selecting Panama over Nicaragua as the site of the Central American canal.
Russell A. Alger,
Russell A. Alger,