[5] Upon discharge, the disability prevented him from performing the strenuous activities involved with farming, so he began a business career in Portland selling insurance, and then automobiles, rising to the position of sales manager.

[6] McKay won election to several local political offices as a Republican, becoming mayor of Salem in 1932, and guided that city through fiscal troubles in the wake of the Great Depression.

[2] Steering his city into recovery, according to a contemporary journalist quoted by biographer Herbert S. Parmet, made McKay "a firm advocate of government as well as business preserving and guarding its financial foundation.

"[3] McKay was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1934, serving four terms interrupted by service as a major in the Army during World War II.

He was a strong advocate for resource conservation; however, he also supported cutting of old growth timber to create jobs for Oregonians.

[5][6] As the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, McKay hoped to balance his concern for natural resources with fiscal and business acumen.

Secretary McKay abolished five divisions within the Interior Department, cutting four thousand positions and reducing the budget by nearly $200 million.

[2][5][10] He fostered partnerships involving the states, local public groups, private enterprise, and the Federal Government in building facilities and developing natural resources.

[12] At the urging of Eisenhower, McKay resigned March 9, 1956, effective April 15, 1956, to challenge incumbent Wayne Morse for his seat in the United States Senate.

[2] Eisenhower replaced the more conservative McKay at Interior with a Moderate Republican, Fred Andrew Seaton, a former short-term senator from Nebraska.