Taylor did not veto any bills during his sixteen months as president.

Taylor was only the second U.S. president (after William Henry Harrison) who did not appoint any Supreme Court justices during his term of office. However, Millard Fillmore, who completed Taylor's term, did appoint one justice.

Taylor died suddenly on July 9, 1850, after four days of suffering from symptoms that included severe cramping, diarrhea, nausea and dehydration. His personal physicians concluded that he had succumbed to gastroenteritis, a bacterial infection of the small intestine. His administration had accomplished little aside from the ratification of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, an agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain that neither side would colonize Central America and that all canals would be neutral.

Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners, and similar theories persisted into the 20th century. In the late 1980s, Clara Rising, a former professor at the University of Florida, persuaded Taylor's closest living relative to agree to an exhumation so that his remains could be tested. Neutron activation analysis conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory revealed no evidence of poisoning, as arsenic levels were too low.