Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 16 › Conversation 016-086

Nixon phone call with Rehnquist on Supreme Court nomination

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 5:18 PM–5:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rehnquist, William H.Conversation016-086 on Tape 16 (tape position 03:16:14–03:17:37)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 5:18 PMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 5:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 016-086 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls William H. Rehnquist to congratulate him following his Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. The President compares Rehnquist’s confirmation vote tally to that of former Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and jokingly references an endorsement by Joe Kraft that nearly jeopardized the nomination. Nixon concludes the call by advising Rehnquist to remain independent and steadfast in his judicial philosophy, urging him not to let political pressure or the Washington social climate influence his future rulings.

William H. Rehnquist
Supreme Court nomination
Senate confirmation
Judicial independence
Charles Evans Hughes

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Well, you must feel like Chief Justice Hughes.

He had 26 voting against him, too.

Is that the exact number?

52 to 26.

I just got it in front of me so you can go out and say, well, like Hughes, I had 26 against him, but you had 68 for.

Gee, you're a much better...

There's only one thing, though.

I've just damn near withdrew your nomination before because I was just talking to John Connolly, and he showed me an article by Joe Kraft endorsing you, and I said, I've made a mistake.

Listen, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your giving me this opportunity.

Well, this is a great thing to be such a young man, to go on the court.

You'll make a great record, and you know the very fact that...

The only thing, I'll give you one, only one last bit of advice, because you're going to be independent, actually, and that is, don't let the fact that you were under heat change any of your reviews.

I'll remember that.

Don't ever let, I told Warren Berger that.

I said, now, Warren, you know, because he didn't get much heat, but I said, just don't come down here, the way I put it to him.

And, uh,

let the Washington social set change it.

So just be as mean and rough as they said you were, okay?

Thanks, Mr. President.

All right.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot.

Bye.

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William H. Rehnquist talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 016-086 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 16-86

Date: December 10, 1971
Time: 5:18 pm - 5:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William H. Rehnquist.

[See Conversation No. 636-9D]

     President's congratulations
           -Rehnquist’s confirmation

                -Vote
                      -Compared with Charles Evans Hughes
                -Nomination
                      -John B. Connally
                           -Joseph C. Kraft
                                 -Article
                -President’s advice
                      -Warren E. Burger

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

016-082 4:36 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Arthur F. Burns talked on the telephone from 4:36 pm to 4:42 pm.
016-083 4:42 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:42 pm and 5:15 pm.
636-009 5:11 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:11 pm to 5:34 pm.
016-084 5:15 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert P. Griffin, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:15 pm to 5:17 pm.
016-085 5:17 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:17 pm.
016-087 5:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:20 pm and 7:53 pm.
636-010 5:34 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:34 pm and 5:38 pm.
636-011 5:38 PM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Jerrold L. Schecter met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:38 pm to 6:27 pm.

All 75 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 016-086, December 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/016-086 (accessed October 5, 2026).