What did the Tenure in Office Act prohibit the president from doing?

• A. Firing a member of his Cabinet
• B. Vetoing a bill without Congress
• C. Appointing a new cabinet without Senate approval
• D. Removing a senator from office

Answer: (A)

The issue tested here is the president’s power to remove certain appointed officials during Reconstruction. The Tenure in Office Act was designed to limit the president’s ability to dismiss people who had been appointed with Senate approval. In practice, that meant the president could not fire cabinet members or other officials who had already been confirmed by the Senate without the Senate’s consent.

That’s why the correct idea is that the act prohibited removing a cabinet member from office without Senate approval. The other options don’t fit: vetoing a bill is a standard presidential power and not restricted by this act; appointing a new cabinet without Senate approval would violate the constitutional appointment process (and the act doesn’t bar initial appointments); removing a senator is outside the president’s power and governed by Senate rules or impeachment procedures. The act’s purpose was to protect executive-branch officials from being disposed of unilaterally by a new president, a point underscored by the Johnson administration’s dispute with Congress over Stanton.