The British debt to George Galphin was to be assumed by the federal government, but Galphin's heirs received payment on the debt's principal only after years of litigation, and were unable to win an interest payment from the Polk administration.[135]
Treasury Secretary Meredith, with the support of Attorney General Johnson, finally signed off on the payment in April 1850. To Taylor's embarrassment, the payment included a legal compensation of nearly $100,000 to Crawford; two cabinet members had effectively offered a tremendous chunk of the public treasury to another. A House investigation cleared Crawford of any legal wrongdoing, but nonetheless expressed disapproval of his accepting the payment. Taylor, who had already been sketching a reorganization of his cabinet, now had an unfolding scandal to complicate the situation.[135] The House of Representatives voted to censure Taylor, and newspapers of both parties began calling for his impeachment.[136]

Death
An 1850 print depicting the death of Zachary Taylor
On July 4, 1850, Taylor reportedly consumed copious amounts of cherries and iced milk while attending holiday celebrations during a fund-raising event at the Washington Monument, which was then under construction.