Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 501 › Conversation 501-030

Nixon, Haldeman & Rogers on Senate legislative strategy and Mathias Amendment

Wednesday, May 19, 1971 · 6:10 PM–6:16 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operator; Rogers, William P.Conversation501-030 on Tape 501 (tape position 06:28:21–06:31:57)StartWednesday, May 19, 1971 at 6:10 PMEndWednesday, May 19, 1971 at 6:16 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 501-030 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss legislative strategy regarding upcoming Senate votes on the Mathias and Mansfield amendments. The conversation centers on timing the floor votes to minimize opposition success, specifically noting that the Mansfield amendment is expected to be defeated. Nixon consults with Secretary of State William P. Rogers to coordinate communication with Senator Mike Mansfield, aiming to manage the debate schedule and ensure favorable outcomes for the administration.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 41% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Well, that was an interesting recording.
It really was.
You've got, uh... One problem is, is the button's still open.
How about it?
I thought you asked at least for seven, apparently, because as of 6 a.m., it started to fade, or just before.
Yeah.
And they are tied up to an hour of tape, which they don't think they'll take.
Yeah.
And, uh, so we've got some guys leaving.
Other than that, no, I don't think so.
After the finance, Mansfield is next.
And he has three hours of debate if he wants it then.
So you have to know whether or not to call him to the vote.
Questions whether to call him or not, I think we ought to wait, wait, wait for a while more.
There's the possibility that Mansfield will want the debate and will put off his vote for tomorrow.
However, I don't think that will happen now because Roger says talk to Mansfield, which is
I don't want his foot off, because this is going to get voted in.
Mathias loses, and Mansfield will lose for sure.
And President, they won't vote Nancy.
So, I wondered if you had a plan to talk out of this.
What came out of your hands?
Yeah, it's about Paul.
He told me that you, I understand, the van is going to come out at 7 o'clock and it's very close, is that right?
The real problem is, about that bill, is it's death debt.
These guys can only just wait.
I mean, they can only realize they're going to look better tomorrow.
You can almost apply that.
Yeah.
He will appreciate the fact that you called, because tomorrow when he hears this, it's going to be like an actual cold water.
You know, not, I mean, he'll like it.
It's done.
It'll be like a village of water and sense of the earth.
He's, you know, putting up an event to tie our hands.
We accomplished something.
Time to go at seven o'clock.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is a count, but, you know, we're done.
No, President.

NARA Description

On May 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:10 pm to 6:16 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 501-030 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 501-30

Date: May 19, 1971
Time: 6:10 pm - 6:16 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Robert H. Finch's and Donald H. Rumsfeld's report

     Charles McC. Mathias Amendment
          -Debate

     Michael J. Mansfield Amendment
         -Debate
         -White House strategy
         -Debate, vote
         -Mansfield
                -Conversation with William P. Rogers

                     -Rogers’ call to Dwight L. Chapin

[The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 6:10 pm and
6:11 pm]

[Conversation No. 501-30A]

[See Conversation No. 3-68]

[End of telephone conversation]

                -Vote
                     -Mathias Amendment

[The President talked with Rogers between 6:11 pm and 6:15 pm]

[Conversation No. 501-30B]

[See Conversation No. 3-69]

[End of telephone conversation]

The recording was cut off at an unknown time while the conversation was in progress.

Also recorded on May 19, 1971

  • 501-029 4:38 PM · 1 hr 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, John A. Scali, Ronald L. Ziegler, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Robert H. Finch met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:38 pm to 6:10 pm.
  • 003-068 6:10 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:10 pm and 6:11 pm.
  • 003-069 6:11 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 6:11 pm to 6:15 pm.
  • 003-070 6:16 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:16 pm and 7:44 pm.
  • 003-071 7:44 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at 7:44 pm.
  • 003-072 7:47 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:47 pm and 7:48 pm.
  • 003-073 7:48 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:48 pm to 7:50 pm.
  • 003-074 7:50 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:50 pm and 7:55 pm.

All 48 conversations from May 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 501-030, May 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/501-030 (accessed October 9, 2026).