Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 3 › Conversation 003-026
Nixon phone call with Arends on Supersonic transport and Legislative strategy
Wednesday, May 12, 1971 · 5:29 PM–5:31 PM ET · White House Telephone ·1 min
AI Summary
President Nixon calls House Minority Whip Leslie C. Arends to congratulate him on securing a narrow legislative victory regarding the supersonic transport (SST) funding. Arends explains how strategic procedural maneuvers, including securing pairs from the Illinois delegation—specifically Representatives Philip M. Crane, Robert H. Michel, and Harold R. Collier—were instrumental in the vote. The two discuss the importance of selecting favorable House-Senate conference committee members to maintain their momentum against the Senate.
- Supersonic transport
- Legislative strategy
- House of Representatives
- Congressional procedure
- Illinois delegation
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On May 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Leslie C. Arends talked on the telephone from 5:29 pm to 5:31 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-026 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 003-026
Date: May 12, 1971
Time: 5:29 pm - 5:31 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Leslie C. Arends.
[See Conversation No. 499-002B]
Supersonic transport [SST] vote
-President's response
-Arends’ location
-Burning Tree Country Club people
-Possible House-Senate conference committee action
-Morale in House
-Illinois delegation
-Philip M. Crane, Robert H. Michel, and Harold R. Collier
-Pairs
-President's responseAlso recorded on May 12, 1971
- 003-025 5:28 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:28 pm and 5:29 pm.
- 499-002 5:28 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Leslie C. Arends, Stephen B. Bull, Frank T. Bow, John B. Connally, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:28 pm and 6:03 pm.
- 003-027 5:32 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Frank T. Bow talked on the telephone from 5:32 pm to 5:33 pm.
- 498-001 5:33 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frank T. Bow, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, John B. Connally, and Wilbur D. Mills met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:33 pm and 6:03 pm.
- 003-028 5:34 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Edward P. Boland talked on the telephone from 5:34 pm to 5:36 pm.
- 003-030 5:37 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:41 pm.
- 003-031 5:37 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:41 pm.
- 003-032 5:41 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:41 pm to 5:45 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 003-026, May 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-026 (accessed September 18, 2026).