After nearly a decade out of the spotlight, Cummings reentered politics. In 1932, he helped persuade 24 senators and numerous congressmen to announce their support for
Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the
Chicago convention, he planned strategy, operated as floor manager, and delivered a resounding seconding speech. Following the election, Roosevelt chose Cummings as governor-general of the
Philippines. Two days before the inauguration,
Thomas J. Walsh, who had been designated attorney general, died. Upon taking office on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt named Cummings to lead the Justice Department. Cummings served almost six years as attorney general. Only
William Wirt (1817–1829),
Janet Reno (1993–2001), and
Eric Holder (2009–2015) have had longer tenures in the position. Cummings transformed the Department of Justice by establishing uniform rules of practice and procedure in federal courts. He secured the passage of twelve laws that buttressed the "
Lindbergh Law" on kidnapping, made bank robbery a federal crime, cracked down on interstate transportation of stolen property, and extended federal regulations over firearms. He strengthened the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, called a national crime conference, supported the establishment of
Alcatraz as a model prison for hardened offenders, and reorganized the internal administration of the department. In 1937, Cummings published "We Can Prevent Crime", and, with
Carl McFarland, an assistant attorney general,
Federal Justice, a departmental history.
The Selected Papers of Homer Cummings (1939), edited by
Carl B. Swisher, supplemented the history. Cummings served as the chief protector of
New Deal programs. During his first week as attorney general, he advised Roosevelt that the
Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 permitted the president to close banks and regulate gold hoarding and export. Cummings personally argued the right of the government to ban gold payments before the
U.S. Supreme Court and won the "
gold clause" cases. But, during 1935–1936, the Court overthrew eight key New Deal statutes, including the
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and the
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). Frustration over the conservative nature of the Court, coupled with outrage over the proliferation of lawsuits and injunctions against the government, made Cummings eager to expand the judiciary. After the
1936 presidential election, Roosevelt instructed him to draft legislation for court reform. Neither man wanted to attempt to amend the Constitution. Conservative Justice
James McReynolds had proposed to add a judge for every judge who refused to retire at age seventy at full pay. Such a measure might give the president the opportunity to appoint fifty new judges, including six to the Supreme Court. Roosevelt launched the proposal, prepared secretly by Cummings, on February 5, 1937. The ensuing uproar over the
"court-packing plan" helped kill the bill after 168 days; the Senate returned it to committee. (Of the so-called "
four horsemen" of the US Supreme Court who consistently opposed the New Deal: Van Devanter resigned May 18, 1937; Sutherland resigned January 17, 1938; Butler died November 16, 1939; and McReynolds resigned January 31, 1941.) Cummings retired on January 2, 1939, entering private law practice in Washington. He helped develop a spring golf tournament that annually brought executives, lawyers, and politicians together. He also retained his interest in the Connecticut Democratic party, along with a residence in
Greenwich, Connecticut. He served on the Greenwich Town Committee until 1951. Cummings's papers are held at the
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the
University of Virginia. ==In pop culture==