Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-114

Nixon phone call with MacGregor on Continuing resolution

Wednesday, November 3, 1971 · 5:04 PM–5:08 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); MacGregor, ClarkConversation013-114 on Tape 13 (tape position 03:53:47–03:58:13)StartWednesday, November 3, 1971 at 5:04 PMEndWednesday, November 3, 1971 at 5:08 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-114 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Clark MacGregor discussed legislative strategies for managing a critical continuing resolution for government funding, which included appropriations for the Office of Economic Opportunity and the District of Columbia. They assessed the likelihood of overcoming restrictive amendments proposed by Senate Democrats in upcoming legislative battles, noting that House leadership remained confident in their ability to strip such provisions. The two also addressed diplomatic efforts with key Senators and decided that while Nixon would decline a request to view a film related to Senator Allen J. Ellender, they would assign Henry Kissinger and Robert Finch to review it instead.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Hello.
Yes, Mr. President.
I just read the memorandum on the resolution.
As I understand, the thing in the House is probably going to maybe be acted on next week, you think?
Yes, Jerry Ford thinks that it will be acted on next Wednesday, Mr. President.
Does he think he can get it through with the amendments?
Yes.
Jerry said to me, I was in his office for a while this afternoon, that he feels...
that he and Les feel, and they've talked to Carl Albert, that they can beat down any Mansfield or Cooper Church type amendments.
They can't.
They anticipate that some form of Cooper Church or Mansfield will be in order and will be so ruled in order by the Parliament.
But they don't see the vote being any worse than it was before.
No.
They're quite prepared to take it on head on.
Right.
Point two, then as it goes to the Senate,
I'm just talking to Bob Pincher.
Do you think that they're going to screw it off past the 15th?
That's pretty hard, isn't it?
I think Allender has already said that he'd favor two weeks.
He's being billed in the papers as opposed to a continuing resolution, but all Allender has said is that he won't favor a continuing resolution beyond December 1st.
Yeah.
So I look to see, Mr. President, it may come right down to the wire on November 15th, but I look to see a continuing resolution passed, and my guess is it will extend to December 15th or to the adjournment of the first session, whichever comes sooner.
What is the situation with regard to the Senate then?
Will they then hang on one of those amendments?
Is that...
They will, and then they'll have to fight in conference.
Well, then the conference, then, they'll have to... That's the problem.
They'll have to... Strike the amendment.
They'll strike it, won't they?
I think they will.
And then what will the Senate do?
Turn it down?
That's a good question.
Yeah, that's the question.
But they'll be faced with a continuing resolution that funds District of Columbia Appropriations, Office of Economic Opportunity.
Yeah, I notice it's a pretty good bag.
You bet it is, and the Senate's going to have a hard time knocking that down.
Yeah, yeah.
Their game, I suppose, will be to try and rush through these other appropriations, Mr. President, the OEO and District of Columbia and others, leave only defense and foreign assistance.
By the 15th.
By the 15th.
That'll probably be the game of Allender and Mansfield and Fulbright.
Maybe some of our people can slow those down a little.
That's exactly what we have in motion.
Well, no, that doesn't change the game plan we talked about here.
Not when I... Do you think that we're all right just to continue to think in terms of our date?
You know what I mean?
I think we are, sir.
All right.
Bill Rogers had a very good meeting with the Senators this morning.
We're beginning to get...
I talked to George Aiken this afternoon, and George Aiken and Gail McGee and John Sparkman and John Sherman Cooper and Hugh Scott can be the nucleus of...
Well, John Sherman Cooper's going to insist on his goddamn amendment and mean that he looked... John Sherman Cooper has said to Bill Rogers, you redraft my amendment so that it's acceptable to the president.
Yeah, I know, but they can't redraft the amendment.
I don't see how we can't.
No way.
No way.
That's always his line.
At least they're... And you see, the problem is, redrafting his amendment, even if it were acceptable to me, it certainly isn't going to be acceptable to the House.
No.
That's the problem, you know.
Those guys are going to fight, bleed, and die, and it's just wrong for them to be put to the sword.
You bet they are, and I can tell you that Jerry Ford and Les Aarons are really jacked up as a result of your meeting with them.
Jerry Ford, that's the best meeting I've ever had with the president.
Let me ask you one other thing, and please say no.
Would it serve any useful purpose to me to see Eleanor's motion picture or something, to work on it?
Not at this time, Mr. President.
I mean, would it help on this point?
That's my point.
If the old fart, if it'll do anything, I'll do it.
Henry's recommended it, but I just don't know.
I don't know.
Henry's judgment's usually good, but what do you think?
It's a pretty tedious exercise.
Oh, tedious?
For Christ's sake, it's tedious to even have him in the room.
May I think about that for just a moment?
Well, listen, I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll do this.
I won't go see it, but I'll have Kissinger come see it.
How's that?
He just told me that.
Okay.
You go see it.
I've seen it, too, Mr. President.
All right.
All right.
Finch, you'll go see it.
All right.
Okay.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On November 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Clark MacGregor talked on the telephone from 5:04 pm to 5:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-114 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-114

Date: November 3, 1971
Time: 5:04 pm - 5:08 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Clark MacGregor.

[See Conversation No. 612-4G]

     Pending legislation
          -Gerald R. Ford's conversation with MacGregor
                -Leslie C. Arends
                      -Conversation with Carl B. Albert
                -Possible amendments
                      -Michael J. Mansfield
                      -John Sherman Cooper and Frank F. Church
                            -Possible vote
          -Senate
                -President's conversation with Robert H. Finch
                -Allen J. Ellender's statement
          -Possible conference
          -Continuing resolution for agencies' funding
                -Office of Economic Opportunity
                -District of Columbia
                -Department of Defense
                -Foreign assistance
                -Strategy of Ellender, Mansfield, and J. William Fulbright
          -Senate
                -William P. Rogers’ meeting, November 3rd

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                  -MacGregor's conversation with George D. Aiken
                        -Gale W. McGee
                        -John Sparkman
                        -John Sherman Cooper
                        -Hugh Scott
                  -Cooper's conversation with Rogers
                        -Redrafting amendment
            -President's meeting with Ford and Arends
            -President's schedule
                  -Ellender's motion picture
                        -Henry A. Kissinger's recommendation

[Kissinger can be heard in the background]

                       -Finch

Also recorded on November 3, 1971

  • 013-108 4:34 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Russell B. Long talked on the telephone from 4:34 pm to 4:40 pm.
  • 612-004 4:34 PM · 56 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Russell B. Long met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:34 pm to 5:31 pm.
  • 013-109 4:40 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:40 pm and 4:42 pm.
  • 013-110 4:42 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Robert H. Finch talked on the telephone from 4:42 pm to 4:43 pm.
  • 013-111 4:43 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:43 pm and 4:46 pm.
  • 013-112 4:54 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Philip M. Crane talked on the telephone from 4:54 pm to 4:55 pm.
  • 013-113 4:55 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 5:04 pm.
  • 612-005 5:31 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 5:31 pm on November 3, 1971 and 8:07 am on November 4, 1971.

All 67 conversations from November 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-114, November 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-114 (accessed October 20, 2026).