From 1921, Held also served as the president of the Deutscher Katholikentag, a regular gathering and discussion forum for Roman Catholics throughout Germany.

In 1930, Held's government lost its majority in the Bavarian parliament but continued in office as a minority administration.

[3] Held continued to advocate states rights within the German republic, publishing papers on the subject.

In 1932 he sharply criticized the removal of the Prussian prime minister Otto Braun by Chancellor Franz von Papen, a move he considered an unlawful interference by the federal government in state matters.

Initially Held resisted the attempts by the SA to overthrow his government, but he received no support from the German army, who had orders from Berlin to stay out of domestic politics, so that ultimately he could not hold off the Nazis.

[7] The office of Bavarian prime minister was abolished and replaced by a Reichsstatthalter, a purely administrative position with no political power.

[3] Held retired from politics, first escaping to Lugano, Switzerland, where his son Josef lived, later withdrawing to Regensburg.