Command of Army Act
[4] The law also stipulated that any attempt by the president to remove the general of the army from the chain of command would require Senate approval.[3] Even at the time that the Army Appropriations Bill which contained the act was being considered by the United States Senate in late February 1867, several of the Senate's lawyers believed that the law infringed on the constitutional authority of the president as commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces.[7] The Army Appropriations Bill containing the act was initially passed in the United States House of Representatives on February 20, 1867, in a 90–32 vote.[9][10] On the same day that the Army Appropriations Act containing the Command of Army Bill was agreed to by the conference committee, the United States Congress also passed into law, over the president's veto, the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the president from removing certain federal officials without the approval of the United States Senate.[12] Despite taking formal issue with this and another provision, arguing that the Command of Army Act was unconstitutional, Johnson signed the appropriations bill containing it on March 4, 1867.