Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 534 › Conversation 534-010

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Welfare policy and Federal regulations

Thursday, July 1, 1971 · 12:06 PM–12:09 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation534-010 onTape 534 (tape position 03:21:16–03:23:04)StartThursday, July 1, 1971 at 12:06 PMEndThursday, July 1, 1971 at 12:09 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 534-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman discussed an upcoming meeting with Cabinet members James D. Hodgson and Elliot L. Richardson regarding federal welfare regulation waivers. Nixon expressed skepticism toward the liberal inclinations of these officials and directed Ehrlichman to ensure that the meeting did not lead to a loosening of existing regulations. The President emphasized the need for strict policy enforcement and requested that Ehrlichman attend the session to provide necessary oversight and administrative cover.

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.7 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

So I just want to be sure that the understanding is clear.
These are both, you know, liberals who want to do it.
What's the purpose of my meeting with these people now?
Just to tell them it's okay?
So that's what this is about.
Well, you'll be at the meeting.
Remember now, I don't want to say anything that loosens anything up.
I want a hell of a lot of cover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's right.
That's right.
All right, fine.
Okay, bud.
Okay.

NARA Description

On July 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:09 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 534-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 534-10

Date: July 1, 1971
Time: Unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:09 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

     Welfare regulation waivers
          -Forthcoming meeting with James D. Hodgson and Elliot L. Richardson
                -Purpose of meeting
                      -Federal regulations
                -Ehrlichman's presence at meeting
          -Strict regulation

Also recorded on July 1, 1971

  • 534-004 10:26 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:27 am.
  • 534-005 10:27 AM · 1 hr 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, John D. Ehrlichman, Manolo Sanchez, Henry A. Kissinger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:27 am to 11:49 am.
  • 534-006 11:49 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:49 am.
  • 534-007 11:50 AM · 15 min — Stephen B. Bull, Joseph H. Blatchford, Thomas R. Donnell, Jr., Charles H. Percy, Chet Holifield, Frank J. Horton, Arnold R. Weber, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:50 am and 12:06 pm.
  • 534-008 12:06 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Andrey Pontier met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:09 pm.
  • 534-009 12:06 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:09 pm.
  • 534-011 12:09 PM · 1 hr 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Sammy Davis, Jr., Robert J. Brown, Henry C. Cashen, II, Jeffrey Donfeld, White House photographer, unknown person(s), Elliot L. Richardson, James D. Hodgson, George P. Shultz, and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:09 pm to 1:38 pm.
  • 534-012 1:38 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:38 pm and 2:05 pm.

All 57 conversations from July 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 534-010, July 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/534-010 (accessed September 18, 2026).