Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 834-020
Date: Friday, January 5, 1973 at 4:40 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/834-020

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] These guys don't understand this.
[0:10] It's pretty complicated.
[0:12] I mean, there's a lot being done when they...
[0:18] The cuts.
[0:18] 4,002, we had a nice carry on that.
[0:22] John did it.
[0:32] Spencey will come back next week with a good, or within the next six days, with a substantial cut in the 510, which is the White House staff review.
[0:46] It's budgeted for 510.
[0:47] Out of that 510, there are about 155 people who are, you know, who work in the OV who can be referred to as presidential appointees.
[0:58] That's going to be cut.
[1:00] by 30 to 40 percent, something in that area, where we'll be able to come back and again get that cut story out next week, which we'll understand that.
[1:13] Of course, that's part of the 4,002, but we'll get more of an executive break on it to get an extra bite on it.
[1:19] Right.
[1:23] But the questions didn't center around, because the way John presented it, and I think most of the stories will play this way, going to play more along the line of moving activities away from the White House and into departments.
[1:40] If you would emphasize the point that I used in arguing a lot of things, the one window.
[1:47] In other words, when a member of Congress, for example, or a member of the general public has a subject that crosses through several departments, instead of having to run from one department to another, he goes to one window.
[2:00] The Council, the National Council for Natural Resources, and it's the one, that's what we're reviewing here, whatever, by putting this subject
[2:10] President, and the old system is simply outmoded.
[2:14] So you've got transportation.
[2:17] You've got community development.
[2:18] You have one window to go to the council for community development.
[2:23] And also, that's one window for the president, too.
[2:26] The president, when he wants to know something about community development, he doesn't have to call it his transportation.
[2:33] The other man, the pedigree, can say, all right, here's the council for community development.
[2:37] And they do it all together.
[2:38] Justice is a good justice.
[2:40] This is not real.
[3:06] All right.
[3:10] All right.
[3:42] On the night, we're going to have the press conference that I mentioned to you.