In October 1910, President William Howard Taft announced he would appoint Lewis as a United States Assistant Attorney General, sparking a national debate. A North Carolina newspaper wrote that the "Lucky Colored Man" would hold the "Highest Public Office Ever Held by One of His Race." The appointment was reported to be "the highest office in an executive branch of the government ever held by a member of that race." ("President Taft, it is stated, has decided to appoint a colored man to the highest office in an executive branch of the government ever held by a member of that race.") The Boston Journal wrote that Lewis had received "the highest honor of the kind ever paid to a negro," such that he then ranked in "a position of credit and influence second only to that occupied by Booker T. Washington", president of Tuskegee Institute.
