Roosevelt decided he would actively oppose the re-election of any Democrat who didn't strongly support the New Deal. This upset Cactus Jack. But Roosevelt's plan to increase the size of the Supreme Court upset Garner even more.
The Supreme Court had been declaring major parts of the New Deal unconstitutional, and Roosevelt had gone through an entire four-year term without the opportunity to name a Supreme Court member. He now planned to add six people to the court. Rather than support his president, Garner let everyone know he opposed the plan. He walked through the Capitol holding his nose and gave the thumbs-down sign whenever the idea was mentioned. When the legislation came before the Senate, Garner went home on vacation so that he would not have to vote on the measure in case of a tie. Roosevelt angrily order Garner back to Washington, but Garner stayed in Texas and skipped the vote.
When Garner returned to Washington, he found himself increasingly excluded from the inner circle. Cabinet meetings were more social occasions with the real business conducted after Garner left. Garner did not seem to mind missing the meetings, which he referred to as Roosevelt's "prayer meetings."
Garner called Roosevelt "the most destructive man in all American history." FDR was no longer a big fan of Garner's either. FDR was particularly upset when Garner greeted the King of England by slapping him on the back.
The final break came when Roosevelt announced he would run for a third term. Garner had planned to run himself, but knew he could not because of Roosevelt's popularity and control of the Democratic Party. He also felt strongly about the two-term tradition, saying "I wouldn't vote for my own brother for a third term." Garner ran against Roosevelt, but didn't do nearly as well as he had in 1932. On the first ballot, Garner won 61 votes to FDR's 946. Garner did not take his overwhelming defeat well. He returned to his home in Texas, and never returned to Washington to preside over the Senate for the remainder of his term.
Cactus Jack Garner stayed active in Democratic politics for many years. Many Democratic leaders made visits to his Texas ranch. Each year on his birthday, Garner held a press conference and repeated his well-known opinion about the vice-presidency, which he called the "unnecessary office." Garner once told Lyndon Johnson that the vice-presidency "wasn't worth a bucket of warm spit," because "the Vice President is just a waiting boy, waiting just in case something happens to the President." Actually, he said something less polite, but the press cleaned it up before quoting him. In spite of his advice, Johnson accepted the vice-presidential nomination.
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