Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 853 › Conversation 853-006

Nixon & Bull on Welfare reform and Tax and trade

Thursday, February 8, 1973 · 9:54 AM–10:31 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation853-006 on Tape 853StartThursday, February 8, 1973 at 9:54 AMEndThursday, February 8, 1973 at 10:31 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 853-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to coordinate upcoming discussions with Treasury Secretary George Shultz and Senator Russell B. Long regarding legislative priorities. Nixon directed Bull to arrange the schedule so that welfare reform is addressed as the primary topic before pivoting to tax and trade issues. The President emphasized a need for 25 minutes of dedicated time for welfare reform before allowing Shultz and Long to join the conversation.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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All right, Secretary Shultz has called me on early.

I'll call him.

I will call him.

If we get into the other subject that I need to talk about, tell Early.

Is Early going to call you?

Yes, sir.

Is Early going to call you?

Yes, sir.

I'll tell the secretary to stand by, that I want to get welfare reform out of the way first.

And as soon as we get to tax and trade, I'll call them.

But I want to discuss welfare reform.

Get it out of the way first before it comes over.

You tell her, get my shelter up and call her and say, the president wants to talk about welfare reform first.

He should stand by.

We'll probably take 25 minutes on that.

And then we'll be ready for him.

NARA Description

On February 8, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 853-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 853-6

Date: February 8, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:54 am and 10:31 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       President’s schedule
              -George P. Shultz's call to John D. Ehrlichman
                      -Meeting with Russell B. Long
                      -Ehrlichman's call to Bull
                             -Opinion on President’s attendance
              -Meeting with Shultz and Long
                                                -4-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 853-6 (cont’d)

                       -Welfare reform
                       -Tax and trade
                       -Welfare reform
                              -Ehrlichman
                                      -Call to Shultz
                                      -Amount of time

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:31 am.

Also recorded on February 8, 1973

853-001 9:51 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:51 am and 9:52 am.
853-002 9:51 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:51 am to 9:52 am.
853-003 9:52 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon K. Allin met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:52 am to 9:54 am.
853-004 9:54 AM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am.
853-005 9:54 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am.
853-007 9:54 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am.
853-008 9:54 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am.
853-009 9:54 AM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:54 am and 10:31 am.

All 38 conversations from February 8, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 853-006, February 8, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/853-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).