Halloween Massacre
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The "Halloween Massacre" (November 4, 1975) was the term given by political commentators to U.S. President Gerald R. Ford's reorganization of his Cabinet. Ford fired National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, replacing him with General Brent Scowcroft (Kissinger retained his post as Secretary of State). He also fired CIA Director William Colby and replaced him with future President George H.W. Bush, and he fired Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and replaced him with Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld's deputy, future Vice President Richard Cheney, moved up to be the Chief of Staff. Additionally, under pressure from Republican Party conservatives, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller announced that he would not run for re-election as Ford's running mate in 1976. Subsequent to these events, Rogers Morton was also replaced by Elliot Richardson as Secretary of Commerce.
Historians have alleged that it was Rumsfeld and Cheney who convinced Ford that he needed to make these changes in order to shore up his support with conservatives and thus improve his standing in the upcoming Republican primaries for the Presidential campaign of 1976. [1]
