Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 40 › Conversation 040-048

Nixon phone call with Haig on William W. Scranton and Energy Policy

Tuesday, June 12, 1973 · 10:59 PM–11:02 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation040-048 on Tape 40StartTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 10:59 PMEndTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 11:02 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 040-048 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the recruitment of William W. Scranton to lead administration energy initiatives. They evaluate Scranton's administrative credentials, his strong ties to the oil and coal industries, and the positive press reception his appointment would generate despite his past political differences with the White House. Haig is instructed to contact Scranton to solicit his services, with the goal of finalizing the offer during a meeting in order to facilitate a formal announcement by Thursday.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Mr. President?
Hi, Al.
When I talked to you about Scranton, you probably thought I was kidding.
No, no, no.
But I want you to know that I've been thinking about it a bit.
he knows cole he knows all the big shots in the country every oil man in the country they all know bill scranton because he's deep in everything you know right he knows uh he's been a great administrator the press loves him when you compare him with pete peterson pete peterson we know but everybody in the country knows bill scranton that's right and the bill would come with a free hand
He would do one hell of a job.
I think he'd know how to do it.
I think he'd be thrilled.
Yeah.
And if you could call him in the morning and ask him to come down tomorrow.
Yes, sir.
And I'll offer him the job, and we'll make it Thursday.
Let's go on it.
Great.
I think that's good.
He's a guy we've all worked with.
Yeah.
And, of course, he did a few things we don't like, but it was in areas that, you know...
Like, you know, the kids and the rest where he's hung up.
But on oil, he is basically a capitalist.
That's right.
He'll do the right thing.
He'll manage it.
And God, the press will love it.
And that'll give us that extra, I mean, he'll help us politically.
He'll be on the inner staff, you know.
And he's a wise guy.
That's right.
He's a hell of a guy.
You know him.
You can call him, can't you?
I know him well, yes, sir.
Call him in the morning and say that the president thought he's been doing a lot of things about it, thought he would be the best man for the job, but hasn't wanted to call him unless it was a challenge worthy of him.
This is necessary.
It isn't permanent.
But he's got to come down here and put this in order.
We've got a good staff for him.
They've got a good program.
Great.
We'd like to announce it on Thursday.
Great.
And what do you think?
I like it.
I like it.
Because I like Scranton.
I've always got it.
Yeah.
Well, he's a classy guy.
Yes, sir.
Classy guy.
He's got the clout that you need.
He's got the clout and the reputation and also that sort of liberal business that people like.
He's not as liberal as you think.
Well, he was very helpful to me during the period of the SALT announcements, you know, when we were having trouble with McCloy and others.
And goddamn, he just did a great job for us.
You could call him and say, look, here it is now, Bill.
This is what the president wants you to do.
It's almost a command performance.
I put it right there that if we want you to do it, we want you to think about it, talk to your wife, you've got to come down and do it.
Good.
And I'll see you tomorrow afternoon any time.
Great, sir.
Okay.
Good.
Well, we'll get that moving.
All right.
All right, sir.
Good.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On June 12, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 10:59 pm to 11:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 040-048 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 40-48

Date: June 12, 1973
Time: 10:59 pm - 11:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Energy
          -William W. Scranton
                -Contacts
                      -Coal industry [?]
                      -Oil industry
                -Media coverage
                      -Compared to Peter G. Peterson
                             -Scranton’s notoriety
                             -Scranton’s capabilities
                -Forthcoming conversation with President
                      -Job offer
                -Positions
                                               -43-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                       -Opposition to President
                             -Youth issues
                       -Fossil fuels
                             -Capitalist viewpoints
                 -Advantages
                       -Management experience
                       -Press reaction
                       -White House staff
                 -Forthcoming telephone call from Haig
                       -Job offer from President
                 -Haig’s assessment
                 -Presidential assessment
                 -Liberal stance
                 -President’s request for service
                 -Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] announcements
                       -John J. McCloy
                 -Telephone call from Haig
                       -Mary Scranton
                 -President schedule
                       -Meeting with Scranton

Also recorded on June 13, 1973

  • 040-045 10:18 PM · 21 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 10:18 pm.
  • 040-047 10:57 PM · 14 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 10:57 pm.
  • 040-049 11:03 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 11:03 pm to 11:15 pm.
  • 040-050 11:16 PM · 2 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:16 pm to 11:17 pm.
  • 040-051 11:17 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:17 pm and 11:26 pm.
  • 040-052 11:26 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone from 11:26 pm to 11:37 pm.
  • 040-053 11:37 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:37 pm and 11:38 pm.
  • 040-054 11:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:38 pm to 11:41 pm.

All 95 conversations from June 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 040-048, June 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-048 (accessed October 12, 2026).