Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-118

Nixon phone call with Ehrlichman on Second term transition

Tuesday, January 9, 1973 · 4:11 PM–4:15 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsEhrlichman, John D.; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation035-118 on Tape 35StartTuesday, January 9, 1973 at 4:11 PMEndTuesday, January 9, 1973 at 4:15 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-118 ↗

AI Summary

John D. Ehrlichman and President Nixon discuss the scheduling of brief, purposeful meetings with key administration officials to solidify staffing for the second term. They identify the three new counselors, VA administrator Donald E. Johnson, and CEQ leadership under Russell E. Train as priority contacts to confirm their status and provide direction. Ehrlichman is tasked with coordinating these brief, substantive check-ins through H.R. Haldeman to ensure the administrative transition proceeds efficiently.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mr. Ehrlichman, return your call, sir.
Yes.
What name?
Do you have any?
The only useful, John, the only ones that I could recommend right now would be the three counselors, if you want to meet with them to kick off their...
Individually?
No, no, collectively.
Mm-hmm.
Other than those two, there isn't anybody in the cabinet that you need to see.
Well, if it's useful, as I said, my point is that I...
I've been meeting with the three of them.
Is there any other?
Anybody else in the government?
Yes, there are two.
Don Johnson at the VA and Russ Train and his two new CEQ people.
The problem with the environmental quality people is that you have now seen Ruckelshaus and you have not seen the two new
um commissioners except in in a very pro-formal way and uh so i think there there is something to be gained by seeing buster rude and the lady with rust train and to say to them that i want you to continue in the second term they know that they're are they all planning to continue well they don't know they haven't been told and so they're on tender hooks so i don't let me say that the
If I see them, I'd be glad to be sure they are told before they come in.
Oh, sure.
So that I don't want to have them in there and say, well, we don't want to stay.
Oh, no, they all do want to stay very much.
Fine, fine.
Okay, tell them that's the purpose of it.
Right.
That would make a logical thing.
Don Johnson, we're going to keep on at least for a while until we can come up with a really good...
substitute.
Well, he probably wants to run for governor or something.
I would imagine so eventually, and he's got a new congressional situation because Tiger Teague, as you know, has gone off the chairmanship of that committee, and so it's logical to keep him on for a while.
We can run these on the basis of 10 minutes, 15 to 20 maximum, and we'll figure a little more than that, but I mean, we'll tell them we've got to, these are just brief appointments to tell them, you know, to
discuss a great deal of substance, but to inform them of their thing.
That's all you have in mind.
That's really all you need to do.
Now, if you want to expand that, you can.
You could have, well, actually, Brennan, it wouldn't hurt to have back, but those fellows are involved in their
In their confirmations, yeah.
Yeah, and also having seen them all before.
That's right.
That's right.
There's really no reason.
The counselors probably could be seen for the purpose of what?
Well, we've announced the reorganization now, and we're sending them letters saying, well, you're at least sending capital letters saying you want him to get in business as a counselor right away and drop the OMB thing.
And so you'd be saying to him, okay, boys, you're off and running, and this is the first of a number of contacts we'll be having in your new capacity, and I just wanted to, you know, kind of touch base with you as I start out.
That should be a probably half-hour meeting time.
All right, John, fine.
Bob is just coming out.
I'll pass these on, and he'll give them to Bo, and we'll try to work them out over the next two or three days.
Very good.
Fine, okay.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On January 9, 1973, John D. Ehrlichman and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 4:11 pm to 4:15 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-118 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-118

Date: January 9, 1973
Time: 4:11 pm - 4:15 pm
Location: White House Telephone

John D. Ehrlichman talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 401-16D]

       The President's schedule
            -Meetings with the President
                  -Counsellors
                         -Cabinet
                                            -105-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 35-118 (cont’d)

                        -Meeting with Ehrlichman
                  -Donald E. Johnson
                        -Veteran Administration [VA]
                  -Russell E. Train
                        -Council on Environmental Quality [CEQ]
                        -[John A. Busterud, Beatrice E. Willard]
                  -CEQ
                        -William D. Ruckelshaus
                        -Busterud
                        -[Willard]
                        -Train
                        -Retentions
                  -Johnson
                        -Possible substitute
                        -Political ambitions
                               -Olin E. (“Tiger”) Teague
                  -Duration
                  -Peter J. Brennan
                        -Confirmation of hearings
                  -Previous meetings
                  -Counsellors
                        -Second term reorganization
                               -Announcement
                        -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
                               -Office of Management and Budget [OMB]
                        -Forthcoming meetings
                        -Duration
                  -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                        -Stephen B. Bull

Also recorded on January 9, 1973

  • 035-115 3:04 PM · 22 sec — the White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 3:04 pm.
  • 401-014 3:04 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:04 pm.
  • 401-015 3:04 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:09 pm.
  • 401-016 3:09 PM · 1 hr 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, unknown person(s), Manolo Sanchez, Lenore L. Romney, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:09 pm and 4:25 pm.
  • 035-116 3:24 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Lenore L. Romney talked on the telephone from 3:24 pm to 3:25 pm.
  • 035-117 3:25 PM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:25 pm and 4:11 pm.
  • 035-119 4:15 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:15 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 035-120 4:16 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 4:16 pm to 4:17 pm.

All 45 conversations from January 9, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-118, January 9, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/035-118 (accessed October 11, 2026).