A warm discussion ensued on the question whether the heads of the departments should be removable by the President.
Gerry, who did not take a prominent part in the debate, spoke with a mildness that was in marked contrast with the excitement shown by some of the speakers.

He was in favor of supporting the President to the utmost and of making him as responsible as possible, but since Congress had obviously no right to confer a power not authorized by the Constitution, and since the Constitution had conditioned appointments on the consent of the Senate, it followed that removals must be subject to the same condition.

He spoke briefly and only once, although the debate became long and impassioned.

But he was merely reserving his fire, as subsequent developments soon showed.

Without a call for the ayes and nays, the question was decided in favor of declaring the power of removal to be in the President.