After Kalākaua's return to Hawaii, he appointed Kuaea a member of the Privy Council of State and as his Minister of Finance from August 14 to September 27, 1880.

[5] Kuaea was a member of the ʻAhahui ʻEuanelio Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Evangelical Association), for which he wrote the article "Culture, Sale, and Use of Awa" in 1866.

Scholar Jean Charlot described him as "a writer of superior Hawaiian, for example, employing an extensive and precise vocabulary to describe the production and use of ʻawa while strongly condemning the use of ‘awa and the relaxation of laws against it, he provided a rich description of its place in classical Hawaiian culture—including sayings, prayers, and religious and medical uses—and also of its syncretistic use with Christian elements.

"[6] Kuaea also wrote a revision of Lorenzo Lyons' Haʻawina Mua (First Lessons), a Sunday school book published in 1878.

[6] Missionary descendant and First Lady of Hawaii Mary Dillingham Frear wrote that "Kuaea is remembered by child eyes as an unusually handsome figure—a man of fine physique with beautiful white hair and a face and bearing often likened to Henry Ward Beecher".

Construction on the new structure began in 1881 with the laying of the cornerstone by Princess Liliʻuokalani (the future queen) on September 2 and was completed on June 10, 1888 (after Kuaea's death).

This commission was part of Kalākaua's vision of Hoʻolulu Lāhui (increasing the nation), an effort to combat the depopulation of the Native Hawaiian people.

Mass meetings were held in Honolulu, including at Kaumakapili Church, and community leaders urged Kalākaua to remove Moreno.

[21][22] On September 22, William Lowthian Green was appointed foreign minister in place of Moreno with the intention of retaining Kuaea and Bush.

[23] On September 8, 1870, Kuaea married Tamar Makahiki (1851–1899), a student of American missionary Maria Ogden at the Kawaiahaʻo Seminary for Girls, as his second wife.

Their daughter Esther U. Kuala Kuakea (1874–1944) attended the Kawaiahaʻo Seminary for Girls, married Solomon David Koki in 1896, and had two children.