to make progress against the Viet Cong. After the coup, Khiêm became Defense Minister and the Chairman of Joint General Staff while serving on the junta. Junta infighting In August 1964, after Khánh decided to take more power for himself by declaring a state of emergency and introducing a new constitution, Buddhists launched protests against the new junta, claiming that there was a plot to revive the Diêm era by predominantly Catholic groups such as Cần Lao veterans and Đại Việt supporters, pinpointing Khiêm and Thiệu, both Catholics who had been favoured by Diêm. Khánh's concessions to the Buddhists sparked opposition from Khiêm and Thiệu, who tried to remove Khánh in favour of Minh, recruiting other officers. Khiêm said "Khánh felt there was no choice but to accept since the influence of [Thích] Trí Quang was so great that he could not only turn the majority of the people against the government but could influence the effectiveness of the armed forces". They sought out Taylor and sought a private endorsement for a coup against Khánh, but the US ambassador did not want any more changes in leadership, fearing a corrosive effect on the government. This deterred Khiêm's group from toppling Khánh. The division among the generals came to a head at a meeting of the MRC on 26/27 August. Khánh claimed the instability was due to troublemaking by members and supporters of the Catholic-aligned Đại Việt (the Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam), which he accused of putting partisan plotting ahead of the national interest. Prominent officers associated with the Dai Việt included Thiệu and Khiêm. Khiêm blamed Khánh's concessions to Buddhist activists as the reason for the demonstrations and the rural losses to the communists. Thiệu and another Catholic, General Nguyễn Hữu Có, called for the replacement of Khánh with Minh, but the latter refused. Minh reportedly claimed that Khánh was the only one who would get funding from Washington, so they support him, prompting Khiêm to angrily say "Obviously, Khánh is a puppet of the US government, and we are tired of being told by the Americans how we should run our internal affairs". After more arguing between the senior officers, they agreed on 27 August that Khánh, Minh, and Khiêm would rule as a triumvirate for two months, until a new civilian government could be formed. The trio then brought paratroopers into Saigon to end the rioting. However,