Grant appointed Elihu B. Washburne Secretary of State, as a friendship courtesy, only to briefly serve office, and then be appointed Minister to France. Grant then appointed conservative Hamilton Fish, former governor of New York, to succeed Washburne. In March 1869, President Grant made it known he desired the Tenure of Office Act repealed, stating it was a 'stride toward a revolution in our free system'. When Grant objected, the Senate Republican caucus met, and proposed allowing the President to have a free hand in choosing and removing his own cabinet. The Senate Judiciary Committee wrote the new bill.
Elihu B. Washburne Elihu B. Washburne|Hamilton Fish,
Elihu B. Washburne Elihu B. Washburne|Hamilton Fish,