Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 57 › Conversation 057-001
Nixon, Citizens' Committee for Government Reorganization & Roche
Thursday, May 13, 1971 · 12:22 PM–12:50 PM ET · Cabinet Room · 29 min
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
part A, 0:38
NARA Description
On May 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, and the Citizens' Committee for Government Reorganization, including James M. Roche, Terry Sanford, Dewey F. Bartlett, John E. Robson, Walter N. Thayer, James Finch, Murray Comarow, Francis A. Coy, Betty Furness, Ben W. Heineman, J. Erik Jonsson, Franklin A. Lindsay, Leonard H. Marks, Newton Minow, Gen. Lauris Norstad, Richard M. Paget, Jack S. Parker, James J. Reynolds, Allen P. Stults, Andrew J. Young, Jr., and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 12:22 pm to 12:50 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 057-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 57-1
Date: May 13, 1971
Time: 12:22 pm - 12:50 pm
Location: Cabinet Room
The President met with John B. Connally, James M. Roche, Terry Sanford, Dewey F. Bartlett,
John E. Robson, Walter N. Thayer, James Finch, Murray Comarow, Francis A. Coy, Betty
Furness, Ben W. Heineman, J. Erik Jonsson, Franklin A. Lindsay, Leonard H. Marks, Newton
Minow, General Lauris Norstad, Richard M. Paget, Jack S. Parker, James J. Reynolds, Allen P.
Stults, and Andrew J. Young, Jr.; the White House photographer was present at the beginning of
the meeting
Greetings and introductions
[General conversation]
Position of the dollar
Photo arrangements
The White House photographer left at an unknown time before 12:22 pm
Work of committee
Government reorganization
-Congress
-State of the Union address
-Ash Council
-Previous studies
-Administration actions
-Possibility of passage in Congress
-President’s conversations
-Connally’s conversations
-John L. McClellan
-Chet Holifield
-Prospects of passage
-Importance
-Work of committee
-Congress
-Holifield
-[Name unintelligible] of Nebraska
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL STAFF
Show the rest of the log (92 more lines)
-Revenue sharing
-Wilbur D. Mills
-Welfare reform
-Credit
-[Unintelligible]
-Baseball
-Thayer
-Connally
-Prospects
-Connally
-Lindsay, Heineman
-Thayer, Paget, Comarow
-Ash Council
-Heineman Report, Lindsay Report
-Ash Council
-Commission
-Need
-Jonsson’s work in Dallas
-Administration’s plan
-Departments
-President’s role
-Family assistance and revenue sharing plans
-Congress
-President’s role
-Sanford’s work in North Carolina, Minnow’s work at Federal Communications
Commission, Marks’ work at United States Information Agency
-Need
-Departments
-Basis for recommendations
-Effect
-Congress
-American people
-Need
-Congress
-Work
-Public opinion
-Administration’s plan
-Need
-Prospects of passage
-Compared with revenue sharing
-Size of departments
-Compared with General Motors
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL STAFF
-Need
-Changes in institutions
-Table in Cabinet Room
-President’s role, cost
-Jesse H. Jones of Franklin D. Roosevelt administration
-Size
-Treaty Room
-Lincoln Bedroom, Queen’s Bedroom
-Cabinet table for Abraham Lincoln period
-Table in Cabinet Room
-Jones’ table
-Current table
-President’s schedule
-Cabinet
-Connally, William P. Rogers
-Size of Cabinet
-Independent agency heads
-National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]
-Atomic Energy Commission
-Veterans’ Administration
-Congressmen
-Size of Cabinet
-Effect
-Dean G. Acheson
-Forthcoming meeting on North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
-Present at the creation
******************************************************************************
France
[To listen to the segment (7s) declassified on 02/28/2002, please refer to RC# E-521.]
******************************************************************************
-NATO, Marshall Plan
-Prospects of implementation
-Importance
-Prospects for passage
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL STAFF
Presentation of gifts by President
[General conversation/Unintelligible]
The President, et al. left at 12:50 pmTranscript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation.
Also recorded on May 13, 1971
- 498-005 10:32 AM · 1 hr 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Steven Baker, Richard J. Daley, George P. Shultz, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:32 am to 12:20 pm.
- 498-019 12:20 PM · 23 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:20 pm and 12:50 pm.
- 057-002 12:50 PM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 4:31 pm.
- 498-006 12:50 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 1:00 pm.
- 498-007 12:50 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 1:00 pm.
- 498-008 1:00 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:00 pm to 1:25 pm.
- 498-009 1:25 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Walter Trohan met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:15 pm.
- 498-010 1:25 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:25 pm and 2:15 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 057-001, May 13, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/057-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).