Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 15 › Conversation 015-107

Nixon phone call with MacGregor on Tax legislation and Presidential veto

Monday, November 22, 1971 · 6:13 PM–6:15 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; MacGregor, ClarkConversation015-107 on Tape 15 (tape position 03:27:46–03:29:56)StartMonday, November 22, 1971 at 6:13 PMEndMonday, November 22, 1971 at 6:15 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 015-107 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417191059 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Clark MacGregor discuss the administration's 52-47 defeat on a critical Senate vote regarding Title 10 of the Pastore amendment to a tax bill. Faced with this legislative setback, Nixon confirms his intention to veto the measure and coordinates a strategy session for the following morning. MacGregor advises on press messaging regarding the tax check-off provision and receives approval to bring Bill Timmons to the upcoming breakfast meeting to discuss further efforts to influence the House of Representatives.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 6:13 pm to 6:15 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-107 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 15-107

Date: November 22, 1971
Time: 6:13 pm - 6:15 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Clark MacGregor

MacGregor talked with the President.

[See also Conversation No. 622-15C]

     Tax Bill vote
          -Title 10 of John O. Pastore's amendment
          -Charles McC. Mathias
          -Clifford P. Case
          -Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
          -Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
          -John C. Stennis
          -John L. McClellan
          -James O. Eastland
          -Veto
                -Robert P. Griffin
                      -Automobile industry consideration
                      -Meeting with the President
                -Gerald L. Warren
                      -Statement to press
                            -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
          -House conferees
                -Check-off provision
                      -White House opposition

     Breakfast meeting
          -William E. Timmons

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Mr. Clark McGregor.

Yeah.

There you are, sir.

Mr. President, I'm sorry to bring you the bad news.

I figured it was that.

We lost at 52 to 47.

We lost on the critical vote on Title 10 of Pastore.

We lost Matthias and Case.

Five Democrats voted with us, Irvin Bird, Stennis McClellan, and Eastland.

Without the two Republican defections, we'd have been beaten 50 to 49, just as I anticipated.

So it didn't make any difference, but it made 52 to 49.

Well, we'll have a little fun vetoing it.

You're going to be there at breakfast in the morning, right?

Yes, sir.

What about Griffin?

Will he stand up for a veto?

Yes.

Will he?

I think he will.

He was very strong in his auto thing.

I'd talk to him frankly about that tomorrow, Mr. President.

He'd be flattered if you did.

Oh, I'm going to ask him.

I'm going to ask them what they think we ought to do.

Good.

I got a piece of paper in to you, but I don't need to give you any guidance on what to bring up tomorrow.

No, no, no.

I'll have the piece of paper, too, but we'll go at 8 o'clock.

I wanted also to be sure that I wasn't exceeding any authority that I should have.

Jerry Warren's been concerned about what he should say to the press, and what I did was to take...

The Ray Price drafted statement that we did not use Saturday, and I reworked it, cut it way down, and I said, I don't think you ought to issue it, but you ought to use it as a guide in saying that the president feels that this amendment is both unsound and unwise, and that he urges the House of Representatives to reject it.

and then point out why it was unsound and unwise.

Well, the House won't get a chance to reject it, will they?

Mr. President, the conferees, of course, from the House will be acting, and under the new House rules, any House member can demand a separate vote on this tax checkoff idea, and the House, therefore, will have a vote.

Assuming that the conferees keep it in.

How in the hell are you going to get, you mean you might, are you going to try to work the House?

We're going to try, Mr. President.

We're going to try everything.

But I think it's important for you to say that you urge the House to reject it so that every step along the way you're fighting it and pointing out the dangers.

Mr. President, if I might be so bold, I think it would be very helpful if we could have Bill Timmons at breakfast, too.

Fine.

Bring him along.

Good.

Thank you, sir.

Sorry we lost you.

Also recorded on November 22, 1971

622-012 4:50 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:50 pm to 5:05 pm.
622-013 5:05 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:15 pm.
622-014 5:05 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 5:15 pm.
622-015 5:05 PM · 1 hr 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:05 pm and 6:32 pm.
015-105 5:15 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:15 pm and 5:39 pm.
015-106 5:39 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and J. Edgar Hoover talked on the telephone from 5:39 pm to 5:45 pm.
622-016 6:30 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:30 pm and 6:32 pm.
015-108 6:33 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:33 pm and 8:18 pm.

All 59 conversations from November 22, 1971 →

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Nixon phone call with Colson on Economic Policy and Stock Market December 1, 1971 · 17 min
Nixon, Griffin & Haldeman on William Rehnquist and Supreme Court confirmation December 10, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon, Ehrlichman & Shultz on Defense Budget and India-Pakistan Conflict November 24, 1971 · 25 min
Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Tax legislation December 10, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Office of Economic Opportunity September 19, 1972 · 1 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 015-107, November 22, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417191059). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-107 (accessed November 2, 2026).