 Although a Senate seat would be disposed of by the Ohio General Assembly after the resignation of John Sherman to become Treasury Secretary , Hayes needed Garfield 's expertise to protect him from the agenda of a hostile Congress , and asked him not to seek it . Garfield , as the president 's key legislator , gained considerable prestige and respect from his role . When Congress debated what became the Bland @-@ Allison Act , to have the government purchase large quantities of silver and strike it into fully legal tender dollar coins , Garfield fought against this deviation from the gold standard , but it was enacted over Hayes 's veto in February 1878 . 
