Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 663 › Conversation 663-007

Nixon & Ziegler on Welfare reform and Ronald Reagan

Tuesday, February 1, 1972 · 5:35 PM–5:36 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation663-007 on Tape 663 (tape position 02:57:15–02:58:28)StartTuesday, February 1, 1972 at 5:35 PMEndTuesday, February 1, 1972 at 5:36 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 663-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler to coordinate messaging regarding welfare reform and the administration's stance on state-level experimentation. They discussed recent interactions with Ronald Reagan and Washington Governor Daniel J. Evans, focusing on maintaining administrative control over welfare funding and federal waivers. The discussion aimed to ensure consistent public remarks during upcoming press conferences and Senate Finance Committee engagements.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I said if you were, if you wanted to hear him, you'd break his fuse on me.
The difference between you and the Finance Committee, your interest is to move it over to the Fed Center by receiving the money.
In fact, this has been called down.
You support the program, and you sit on this.
I said it over and over again.
We're not against the experiment, because of the waivers in California and New York, but I didn't want those money to go out.
So I sort of left room for the experiment to be presented, and we moved to the Fed Center.
We're fine.
And Reagan and Evans did not get into the welfare scheme when they went to see Price.
They said, right, they need a doctor.
All right, good.

NARA Description

On February 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:35 pm to 5:36 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 663-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 663-007

Date: February 1, 1972
Time: 5:35 pm - 5:36 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     President’s schedule
           -Recent meeting with Ronald W. Reagan
           -Ziegler’s press conference comments
                 -Welfare reform
                 -Reagan
                       -Finance Committee
                       -Experimentation
                             -Waivers in California, New York
                 -Reagan, Daniel J. Evans
                       -Dock strike

Ziegler left at 5:36 pm.

Also recorded on February 1, 1972

  • 662-011 12:52 PM · 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:52 pm to 1:37 pm.
  • 663-001 1:37 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 663-002 1:37 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:37 pm and 2:53 pm.
  • 663-003 2:53 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:53 pm to 3:02 pm.
  • 663-004 3:02 PM · 58 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald W. Reagan, John N. Mitchell, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House photographer, Stephen B. Bull, Daniel J. Evans, James D. Hodgson, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:02 pm to 4:00 pm.
  • 663-005 4:05 PM · 1 hr 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:05 pm to 5:33 pm.
  • 663-006 5:33 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:33 pm and 5:35 pm.
  • 663-008 5:36 PM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:36 pm to 6:26 pm.

All 23 conversations from February 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 663-007, February 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/663-007 (accessed October 12, 2026).