 This appointment may have drawn the ire of the Radical Republicans, for Speaker of the House James G. Blaine urged President Ulysses S. Grant that Ewing be recalled and replaced with his brother, Charles Ewing.Blaine told the President that Hugh was 'acting badly'.Blaine himself was disingenuous, having represented to prominent politicians in Ohio including Senator John Sherman that he was doing everything possible to nominate his close personal friend, former Ohio General Roeliff Brinkerhoff, for the post.