Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-215

Nixon phone call with Timmons on Congressional relations

Thursday, May 10, 1973 · 6:10 PM–6:13 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Timmons, William E.Conversation045-215 on Tape 45StartThursday, May 10, 1973 at 6:10 PMEndThursday, May 10, 1973 at 6:13 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-215 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and William Timmons discussed the recent House defeat of a Defense Department transfer authority provision, which had been linked to Cambodian funding. Timmons provided an update on the administration's efforts to regroup and salvage portions of the authority related to non-Southeast Asian operations through a potential amendment by Samuel Stratton. Nixon emphasized minimizing the political fallout in the press and instructed Timmons to coordinate with Alexander Haig and Gerald Ford to issue statements clarifying that the vote did not signal the end of U.S. policy in the region.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Hello, Mr. President.
Hi, Bill.
You're meeting there with Scott?
Yes, I am.
Jerry's still on the floor.
We lost that first vote.
What was the vote?
It was 219 to 188 on striking transfer authority.
We're trying to regroup and see how we can salvage pieces of it.
And that's why Jerry's still on the floor and they're still in session at the House.
And Hague and I are meeting with Senator Scott.
So we didn't do as well on that vote as we had even expected, yeah.
Jerry said that he had about eight or nine more in the well that would go with us if their votes made the difference, but they didn't.
So he said that he didn't squeeze them.
Well, the main thing is don't make a hell of a big thing out of it.
Right.
You know what I mean?
Right.
It's just for two months.
It's a supplemental for the rest of this fiscal year, and it's just transfer authority.
It's not new money.
juggle the books over there a bit.
So it's not really as bad as I'm afraid the press is going to make it appear.
Well, the press will make it appear bad, but that's our fault because we let them do that.
That's right.
But what are they trying to do?
Have another vote?
Yes, they're trying to get back part of the transfer authority for things other than the Cambodian part.
The transfer authority included lots of military installations, not just Cambodia.
And they're going to try to cut back and get some of it back.
And Sam Stratton has offered an amendment to help us on that.
Get some of it back in what areas, you mean?
Well, it's funds for other overseas operations of the Defense Department, other than Southeast Asia.
because the Transfer Authority was really a bigger package than just Cambodia.
It involved money for defense operations around the world.
Well, I think the mistake here was our building that's up to such a big thing, don't you think?
Well, it was.
You know, it slipped up there in the supplemental.
When I first found out about it, it was in the subcommittee of the appropriations, and defense asked for our help on it, and I said, my God, why join the issue at this time on that little bit of money?
uh actually it's only 25 million dollars uh involved in in cambodia well the main thing is that you talk to al and for christ's sake get out some statements that this doesn't mean that our whole policy is finished out there right now at least the boys can do that bill can they yes sir they sure can okay talk to jerry before i leave the hill all right

NARA Description

On May 10, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons talked on the telephone from 6:10 pm to 6:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-215 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-215

Date: May 10, 1973
Time: 6:10 pm - 6:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William E. Timmons.

     Congressional relations
          -Timmons’s meeting with Hugh Scott
          -House of Representatives vote on transfer of authority [Defense Department
           funding]
                -Gerald R. Ford
                -Numbers
                -Scott
                       -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                       -Ford’s role
                -Temporary supplemental appropriation
                       -Transfer authority
                -Press coverage
                -Vote
                       -Partial transfer authority
                             -Funding for Cambodia
                             -Samuel S. Stratton’s amendment
                -Administration’s response
                       -Supplemental appropriation
                       -Appropriations’ subcommittee
                       -Defense Department
                -Funding for Cambodia operations
                -Press relations
                       -Haig
          -Timmons’s meeting with Ford
                                             -139-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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  • 045-212 6:01 PM · 5 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:01 pm to 6:06 pm.
  • 045-213 6:06 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:06 pm and 6:10 pm.
  • 045-216 6:13 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:13 pm and 6:40 pm.
  • 045-217 6:40 PM · 7 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr. and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:40 pm to 6:48 pm.

All 86 conversations from May 10, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-215, May 10, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-215 (accessed October 5, 2026).