Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 192-011
Date: Friday, June 9, 1972 at 4:55 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.
Recording device: Camp David Hard Wire
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/192-011

This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (google/gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference. Verify against the audio before citing.

[1:19:03] NIXON: Yeah, and so it was overwhelming, and only on a, purely partisan vote and not bad at that. Right. Well, we thought we'd have the
[1:19:11] NIXON: uh, at least, uh, a swearing-in for all three on Monday, have a Camp too, so, we can, we can, uh, start the week off with everybody in place.
[1:19:21] NIXON: Place, right. Let's see John Ehrlichman here shortly. He's arriving back from Stockholm.
[1:19:26] NIXON: Told him to figure out some ways to, uh, veto some environment bills now. [chuckles] I hope we we sure have to save some money someplace or other. Where
[1:19:39] NIXON: Serious. Oh, gosh. Unbelievable what we're in on, stuff. Hard to easy to do, when you look at the budget problem here. Big thing. It's really the outside, but, uh, you got to you got to realize the way the Congress goes. Unless we can veto these things,
[1:19:55] NIXON: we can reach that outside number. $55 billion in '74, right?
[1:20:07] NIXON: Oh, but but that's a figure that's a figure that would that's a figure that would happen, though, as I understand it, if we got revenue sharing, and if we got welfare reform, and if we got, uh, the water bill, and if we got, uh, uh, all the other many things.
[1:20:27] NIXON: Well, anyway, we'll see. We're glad you're through, and that you're you people are here under, under your return. So, that's fine, too.
[1:20:36] NIXON: Yeah, and then, you can That's right. That's right.
[1:20:45] NIXON: Right.
[1:20:50] NIXON: Yes, sir.
[1:20:57] NIXON: It's $66 billion, I believe.
[1:21:06] NIXON: You have to You got Bowker lined up, though. Bowker is
[1:21:18] NIXON: Right.
[1:21:20] NIXON: Yeah. Right. Right, right. Oh, Bowker obviously is uh he's open, isn't it? Well, he's pragmatic to try and work a deal out. But we've, uh, but we can't
[1:21:30] NIXON: we can't allow allow Arthur with his tenacity to
[1:21:37] NIXON: force onto something that we can't live with. That wouldn't do any good at all.
[1:21:45] NIXON: Well, anyway, have a good weekend. Bye. Bye.
[1:21:51] NIXON: Mr. Mitchell, please.
[1:21:53] UNKNOWN: [silence]
[1:22:08] NIXON: Yeah.
[1:22:10] NIXON: That's a fine picture of you and Kleindienst on the front page. I was surprised the [unintelligible] used such a good one.
[1:22:20] NIXON: Where's that taken?
[1:22:28] NIXON: Yeah, I just tried to call him this morning. He's in Philadelphia.
[1:22:35] NIXON: I wonder what's he doing out there? Making a speech or something?
[1:22:39] NIXON: Yeah.
[1:22:41] NIXON: Yeah. You know, uh, the vote was good, John, wasn't it? Uh, not not, didn't lose a Republican. Even that Percy turned around, you know?
[1:22:55] NIXON: Oh, I see.
[1:22:58] NIXON: Why'd he do it?
[1:23:01] NIXON: Why do you think he did it?
[1:23:06] NIXON: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think, too, that, uh, I just have a feeling, John, that, uh, you know, there's always a, it's sort of a, from that, after coming back from the Moscow trip and everything,
[1:23:16] NIXON: these guys don't kind of want to be in the position of fighting the president too hard for every damn thing. What do you think?
[1:23:26] NIXON: Not that they wouldn't love to do it, but, you know, they, they watch the wind.
[1:23:34] NIXON: Uh-huh.
[1:23:47] NIXON: They thought they were just too darned, uh, partisan, uh Which they were. They were. Well, thank god, you know, only 19 votes. That That really, uh,
[1:23:55] NIXON: really is good. And I hope he's rough as hell on the people, too. You know, he shouldn't allow this to make him a little tender. You You understand what I mean?
[1:24:05] NIXON: Huh?
[1:24:07] NIXON: You know what I mean? Uh, Connally mentioned that to me, uh, uh, he said, you know, he just hopes that Dick doesn't. Since so many people, when they go through a tough confirmation, then, sort of,
[1:24:15] NIXON: feather the whip. He says, "Don't let him do it." And I think Connally's right. So, you let him, you know, keep him.
[1:24:26] NIXON: Right. Well, he is a good follow.