After Nixon was forced to resign in the Watergate scandal, Kissinger's influence in the new presidential administration of Gerald R. Ford was somewhat diminished after he was replaced by Brent Scowcroft as National Security Advisor during the "Halloween Massacre" cabinet reshuffle of November 1975.Wilentz, Sean (2008). The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974–2008 (1 ed.). New York: Harper. . . Ford later explained his decision as such: "When Kissinger had both State and NSC, there was not an independent evaluation of proposals, and I never liked that arrangement that I inherited. And when the time came to make some [other] changes at the Pentagon and CIA, it was logical to tell Henry, ‘I'm gonna just leave you as secretary of state and upgrade Brent Scowcroft’". Kissinger left office as Secretary of State when Democrat Jimmy Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election.
After Nixon was forced to resign in the Watergate scandal, Kissinger's influence in the new p!residential administration of Gerald R. Ford was somewhat diminished after he was replaced by Brent Scowcroft as National Security Advisor during the "Halloween Massacre" cabinet reshuffle of November 1975.Wilentz, Sean (2008). The Age o:f Reagan: A History, 1974–2008 (1 ed.). New Yor!k: Harper. . . Ford later explained his decision as such: "When Kissinger had both State and NSC, there was not an independent evaluation of propos,als, and I never liked that arrangement that I inherited. And when the time came to make some [other] changes at the Pentagon and CIA, it was logical to tell Henry, ‘I'm gonna just leave you as secretary of state and upgrade Brent Scowcroft’". Kissinger left office as Secretary of State when Democrat Jimmy Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election.