Maxwell Taylor continued to fear that Khanh intended to negotiate a settlement with the NLF, and the ambassador began courting ambitious ARVN officers in an attempt to promote a coup. Sensing danger, Khanh moved to install a civilian ally, Phan Huy Quat, as prime minister. Though the effort succeeded, Khanh himself was ousted a few days later by a group headed by Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky. Ky, who a few months later would distinguish himself by expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler, would now be the de facto major power in Saigon.
