Pennoyer's relationship with Cleveland did not improve noticeably with time. Just a few months later, on May 3, 1893, he refused to use his resources to protect Chinese Americans when asked to do so by Grover Cleveland's Secretary of State on May 3, 1893. (Congress had just extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 for an additional 10 years, and the president was worried about possible riots.) His telegraphed response to this request read, "Washington: I will attend to my business. Let the president attend to his."