Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 867 › Conversation 867-030
Nixon, Beggs & Bull on Department of Transportation and John A. Volpe
Friday, March 2, 1973 · 4:08 PM–5:05 PM ET · Oval Office · 5 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with James M. Beggs and his wife to discuss Beggs's tenure at the Department of Transportation and his future career prospects. The President expressed appreciation for Beggs's work under former Secretary John A. Volpe while acknowledging the immense difficulty of the department's mission. The conversation concluded with Nixon advising Beggs on potential private sector opportunities in California, specifically praising the management quality of the Howard Hughes organization.
- Department of Transportation
- John A. Volpe
- Career transition
- Howard Hughes organization
- California politics
Audio
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Oh, yes.
Here's my best campaigner.
I didn't miss you.
I didn't know about you.
My goodness.
They said you were a pistol.
I was a person.
How are you?
Good to see you.
We're going to turn around and get a campaigning picture for you.
I didn't know you were supposed to be here.
Nice to meet you.
After receiving the bachelor's, now I have to bring my wife.
And, uh, so they can take each other.
I think that these are the things that are going to give her the connections.
I think that means more to me than it does to her.
And I hope the department's enough for them to say, you know, the master's is awesome, and the wife's is awesome.
Well, I want you to know that we've appreciated your work over there, and your transportation, and that new, almost impossible department.
But, uh, I mean, you know, it's actually impossible in the sense that, uh, I don't want to say that we've got to do it, but, uh, we've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
We've got to do it.
He was fun to work with.
He was.
He's such an exciting guy, you know.
He loves him.
He's going to go over there in February and tell you that America's going to have a great time.
He puts out so much that that's what happens when he gets in our trouble.
Yes.
When we barely know, it's always emotional.
Yeah.
But on the other hand, you can't work 20 hours a day when you put so much of yourself into it.
You can't put once you've never run for something.
I'm well aware of how many of us, they come to us and say, what's going on?
What's going on?
They say you really had a good voice and you whacked it on the ground.
No, I don't work in anything.
I've been in politics since I was 18.
Really?
Is it good?
Do you want to have fewer answers?
He just had a very common friend, an old girl, and I told her I had to discuss politics with somebody and I told her I didn't get to do it.
Isn't that right?
You probably didn't want it.
No, I enjoyed it.
And I really wasn't worried about it.
You were a county chairman.
Really?
Oh, yeah.
That's how you won the first vote in county general?
Yeah.
I converted to Democrat county.
We won the first time in 1895.
That's true.
Well, I hope you stay here.
I hope you stay here.
We just might move out to another part of the world.
Are you a serial?
Yes, sir.
Well, I've been associated with Bypass.
Oh, yeah, I have more people.
But you and I are going to be like children.
Have you ever lived there?
No, sir, never have.
Well, mainly because in terms of what your specialty is, that's the place.
They have more people, there's more food, there's more problems, they don't have masks, they can't say anything else.
And what company do you have on your mind?
Well, it would be the used people.
That's a great, great company.
The used or I don't know, any company except the state.
I'd recommend it for the reason that you have.
You read about hues, and there was these powered hues.
And you get the hues, air pressure, the hues, tools.
I guess they're very marvelous, aren't they?
Yes, yes, yes.
Okay.
Yes.
Listen, they're marvelous managers.
They're very happy to use them, right?
And it's definitely good.
I think I would use them a lot.
What do you think?
But Hughes is a great company.
They have great management.
Great management.
And I'm very impressed.
They're goalers.
They're goalers.
And you'll love it there.
And we did at some point.
There we are.
No, I think that would be great.
That would be great because their management is great.
And that would be better than staying in the East.
Thank you.
So that's my advice.
Thank you.
That's pretty good advice.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Yes, sir.
NARA Description
On March 2, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, James M. Beggs, and Mrs. James M. Beggs met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 867-030 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 867-30
Date: March 2, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Mr. and Mrs. James M. Beggs; Stephen B. Bull and the White House
photographer were present at the beginning of the meeting.
Introductions
-Campaigning
Photographs
New ambassadors
-Wives
Beggs's work at Transportation Department
-President's appreciation
-Difficulties of job
-John A. Volpe
-Need for spokesman
-Tenure as secretary
-Ambassador
-Italy
-Volume of work
Mrs. Beggs's work in politics
-45-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 867-30 (cont’d)
-Talks with her father
-County chairwoman
Beggs's new job
-Abilities
-Opportunities
-California
-Mass transit
-Howard Hughes organization
-President's opinion of companies
-Quality of management
Mr. and Mrs. Beggs left.Also recorded on March 2, 1973
- 867-020 4:08 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 4:08 pm.
- 867-021 4:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Edwin S. Cohen, and Mrs. Cohen met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-022 4:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Harold Finger, and Mrs. Harold Finger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-023 4:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Robert C. Moot, and Mrs. Robert C. Moot met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-024 4:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Richard F. Schubert, and Mrs. Richard F. Schubert met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-025 4:08 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles L. Ill, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-026 4:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Samuel Jackson, and Mrs. Samuel Jackson met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 867-027 4:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Spencer Schedler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:08 pm and 5:05 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 867-030, March 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/867-030 (accessed October 12, 2026).