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Conversation 269-015

TapeTape 269StartTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 10:02 AMEndTuesday, August 3, 1971 at 10:19 AMTape start time01:46:31Tape end time01:55:22ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ehrlichman, John D.Recording deviceOld Executive Office Building
AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discuss methods to obstruct court-ordered school busing in Texas, specifically focusing on pursuing legal appeals and alternative compliance strategies. Frustrated by a regional Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) office that issued a non-compliant directive, Nixon orders Ehrlichman to instruct George Shultz to publicly reprimand the office and initiate disciplinary action. The conversation also briefly touches on managing Senator Lowell Weicker regarding his public criticism of the administration's economic policies.

BusingSchool DesegregationDepartment of Health, Education, and WelfarePersonnel ManagementNational EconomyLowell Weicker
AudioNARA Description

On August 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:19 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 269-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 269-15

Date: August 3, 1971
Time: Unknown between 10:02 am and 10:19 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     Busing
          -Texas
          -Court action
                -Appeal
          -Unknown person’s statement
          -Possible telephone calls
          -Alternatives
                -Car pools
                -Court action
                -Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [HEW]
                      -Regional office
          -George P. Shultz
                -President's instructions
                      -Regional office action
                            -Administration disapproval
                                  -Disciplinary action

     National economy
          -Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
                -Statements
                      -Unemployment
                -Administration allies
          -Arthur F. Burns

          -Congress
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Hi, John.
What's the morning report on our...
Great.
And appeal, and appeal, and action.
Is that all right?
He'll say it today.
Yeah.
Right, right.
Well, how about making telephone calls, you know, prior to that time, and cool the damn thing off and say, we're trying to do the work of closing.
Well, that's good work.
There must be a non-busting way to do the damn thing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
How the hell are we doing now?
Busting carpools or something like that?
Yeah.
Well, why the hell hasn't the court done that?
Well, why didn't they ATW those then?
Where did we... ATW retracted Scrooge Johnson.
Well, have we done?
He knows my disillusionment on that letter.
So the regional office deliberately put in a lousy sentence.
They did it because they believed in Bunting and they wanted to do less there.
They did it.
I see.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, now I want them, I want Schultz, he's to be directed to attack that regional office personally.
Is that clear?
No, no, no.
You've got to clear me, cloud and clear.
He is to say the president totally disapproves of the action of the regional office.
And we are taking disciplinary, use the word, if you've got a pencil, disciplinary action that's being taken to reprimand those or remove those who did this.
Is that clear?
Now do it, John.
That's the way to talk to this thing.
Great.
All right.
Bye, John.
Bye.
Say, John, what the hell is a man with a wife?
I notice he's whacking around about an economy issue.
Yeah, but he says a lot of other senators are going to go, why don't they get him down and give him the, not the rest of the brief, what's the, what is his unemployment?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, can't somebody
All right, well, planning on somebody, we've got some very powerful friends, you know, that support him, and he's, he can't, can't have had us, uh, that this way.
He's not running or anything.
He can talk about the problem, and if he wants to, you know, I don't know, let's start doing it.
Yeah.
Sure does.
Well, they can't.
They won't do it before they return this week.
Can they?
No.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
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