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((Short description|None))
((good article))
((Use mdy dates|date=April 2021))
((Infobox United States presidential transition
|name         = Presidential transition of Richard Nixon
|image        = President Lyndon Baines Johnson shakes hands with President-elect Richard M. Nixon - NARA - 194602 (1).tif
|image_border =
|caption      = President Johnson and President-elect Nixon at Nixon's inauguration, prior to his swearing-in
| date_of_preceding_election   = [[1968 United States presidential election|November 5, 1968]]
|transition_start    = November 6, 1968
| inauguration_date              = [[First inauguration of Richard Nixon|January 20, 1969]]
| president-_elect           = [[Richard Nixon]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]])
| vice_president-_elect           = [[Spiro Agnew]] (Republican)
| outgoing_president = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]])
| outgoing_vice_president = [[Hubert Humphrey]] (Democrat)
|headquarters = [[The Pierre]] in [[New York City]]
|membership   =
|leader_title = 
|leader_name  = Franklin B. Lincoln Jr.
|main_organ   =
|parent_organization =
|affiliations =
|num_staff    = 
|num_volunteers=
|budget       = 
|website      = 
|remarks      =
))
((United States presidential transitions series))
((Richard Nixon series))

The [[United States presidential transition|presidential transition]] of [[Richard Nixon]] began when he won the [[1968 United States presidential election]], becoming the [[President-elect of the United States|president-elect]], and ended when Nixon was [[First inauguration of Richard Nixon|inaugurated]] on January 20, 1969. Nixon had become president-elect once the election results became clear on November 6, 1968, the day after the election.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> This was the first presidential transition to take place following the passage of the [[Presidential Transition Act of 1963]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Preparations for a transition were begun by the administration of outgoing president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] many months before the election. Planning for a potential transition into the presidency was also begun by then-candidate Nixon in the months ahead of his election. Nixon's pre-election and post-election transition efforts were headed by Franklin B. Lincoln Jr., and Johnson's were headed by [[Charles S. Murphy]].

At the time of the transition, the United States was engaged in the ongoing [[Vietnam War]], and [[Paris Peace Accords|peace talks]] with [[North Vietnam]] were ongoing.

==Pre-election developments==
A presidential transition was guaranteed to occur in 1968 after incumbent president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] announced on March 31, 1968 that he had decided against seeking reelection.<ref name="Henryjournal">((cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=Laurin L. |title=Presidential Transitions: The 1968-69 Experience in Perspective |journal=Public Administration Review |date=1969 |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=471–482 |doi=10.2307/973467 |jstor=973467 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/973467 |access-date=19 May 2021 |issn=0033-3352))</ref> In November 1968, the ''[[Associated Press]]'' observed that more advance planning had been taken for the 1968-69 presidential transition than any previous transition.<ref>((cite web |title=Advance Planning Benefits the GOP |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/564924594 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Spokane Chronicle |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=29 June 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=November 7, 1968))</ref>

Johnson made it known early into the presidential campaign series that he would actively make information on national interests available to the candidates, telling the press that he would provide them with intelligence briefings on the state of international affairs. Such intelligence briefings had some precedent, with candidates secretly receiving briefings amid [[World War II]]. Additionally, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], during the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 presidential election]] had publicly committed to provide some briefings to candidates.<ref name="Lincoln1">((cite journal |last1=Lincoln |first1=Franklin B. |title=Presidential Transition, 1968-1969 |journal=American Bar Association Journal |date=1969 |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=529–533 |jstor=25724809 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25724809 |access-date=28 September 2022 |issn=0002-7596))</ref> On May 15, Johnson had the [[United States Under Secretary of State|under secretary of state]] begin providing [[State Department]], Pentagon, and [[CIA]] briefings to all of the major candidates for the presidency.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

[[File:Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon 1968.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Then-candidate Nixon meets with President Johnson at the [[White House]] in July 1968.]]

Johnson began planning for a presidential transition in the summer of 1968.<ref name="evolved"/> He produced a number of briefing books for the next presidential administration.<ref name="evolved"/> On July 26, he invited likely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] nominee Nixon and [[American Independent Party]] nominee [[George Wallace]] to the [[White House]] for personal consultations (the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] nominee was not yet decided).<ref name="Henryjournal"/> This was the first time that a president had held such meetings with opposition party candidates.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> During the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]], Democratic president [[Harry S. Truman]] had invited Republican nominee [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to such a meeting with him, but Eisenhower declined his invitation.<ref>((cite book |last1=Henry |first1=Laurin L. |title=Presidential Transitions |date=January 1961 |publisher=The Brookings Institution |location=Washington, D.C. |pages= 475–476))</ref>

Transition planning began at agencies ahead of the election. For instance, the [[Office of Management and Budget|Bureau of the Budget]] had instructed vision heads in the spring of 1968 to begin collecting material that could be helpful to advise the president-elect during their transition.<ref name="GAO"/>

In September, after all the major nominees were decided (following [[Hubert Humphrey]] winning the Democratic Party nomination at [[1968 Democratic National Convention|the Democratic National Convention]], and Nixon being formally nominated at [[1968 Republican National Convention|the Republican National Convention]]), Johnson appointed [[Charles S. Murphy]] as his transition officer, putting him in charge of heading his administration's role in the pending transition.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="GAO"/><ref name="Shribman"/> He would be a liaison to representatives of the election's three major presidential candidates (Humphrey, Nixon, and Wallace) in planning for their prospective transitions.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="transitionregimegetshelp">((cite web |title=Transition Regime Gets Help |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/35100396 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The El Dorado Times |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=November 7, 1968))</ref> Johnson also, at the same time, invited all three major candidates to appoint representatives to consult with his presidential administration in regards to transition planning.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Johnson set aside, furnished, and equipped 50 rooms of office space in two executive office buildings near the [[White House]] to be made available after the election to the victor's transition team.<ref name="transitionregimegetshelp"/>

Johnson also directed department and agency heads to assign a senior official to develop transition plans fit to the needs of their department or agency.<ref name="GAO"/> He also tasked each department and agency with the task of preparing briefing books that would be useful for incoming officials, and to later brief the incoming management of their department of agency during the transition,.<ref name="GAO"/> During the official transition, as appointees were made, the prepared briefing books would be provided to them by their outgoing counterparts at their first meetings.<ref name="GAO"/>

Johnson, while wanting his vice-president, Hubert Humphrey, to win the election, expressed to confidants his desire to have a warm relationship and transition with Nixon if he were to win.<ref name="Shribman"/><ref name="UVA"/>

Nixon's own transition planning began weeks prior to the election.<ref name="evolved">((cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Richard |title=How the presidential transition process has evolved over time |url=https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2016/10/3/13140900/presidential-transition-process-evolve |website=Vox |access-date=18 May 2021 |language=en |date=3 October 2016))</ref> Franklin B. Lincoln Jr. headed this effort.<ref name="GAO"/> The Nixon transition planning effort had a component that consisted of task forces that would create new ideas and insights to shape policies and programs of Nixon's administration.<ref name="GAO"/> This effort had begun as soon as Nixon was nominated for president by the Republican Party.<ref name="GAO"/> There were 21 task forces, and this whole effort was overseen by [[Paul McCracken (economist)|Paul McCracken]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="GAO"/> Lincoln would, during the official transition, confirm that he had begun talking with Charles S. Murphy about coordinating the transition with the Johnson administration three weeks prior to the election.<ref>((cite web |last1=Gwertzman |first1=Bernard |title=Aides of LBJ, Nixon Plan For Transfer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/61248963/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The San Bernardino County Sun |agency=New York Times News Service |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=November 8, 1968))</ref> Additionally, in the last weeks before the election, Nixon and his campaign's chief of staff, [[H. R. Haldeman]], began looking at White House structures and procedures, with Haldeman reading several books on the operations of White House staffs.<ref name="Brauer_pg130">Brauer, p. 130</ref> During the pre-election planning, businessman [[Ross Perot]] made several researchers available to Nixon.<ref name="evolved"/><ref name="Brauer_pg130"/> Nixon also had a personnel-focused component of his transition preparations.<ref>((cite book |last1=Burke |first1=John P. |title=Presidential Transitions: From Politics To Practice |date=2000 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |location=Boulder |isbn=1555879160 |page=17))</ref> Nixon and Haldeman also consulted with those well-versed on inner workings of White House staffs, such as [[Andrew Goodpaster]] and [[Bryce Harlow]].<ref name="Brauer_pg130"/> They also consulted with a study group at the [[Harvard Institute of Politics]] headed by [[Franklin Lindsay]] which was analyzing presidential transitions.<ref name="Brauer_pg130"/> In October, the media reported that a Nixon aide had been, since May, conducting interviews with hundreds of businessmen, labor leaders, non-governmental experts, and professors since May for the ostensible purposes of finding policy ideas, but with the implicit purpose of scouting potential administration appointees.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> Nixon's pre-election transition preparations were made more public than those of Hubert Humphrey.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Johnson, throughout the campaign, continued to provide the three major candidates with briefings, and Johnson personally remained in touch with each of the three candidates. When, in the closing week of the election campaign, Johnson decided to cease the bombing of [[North Vietnam]] in order to facilitate [[Paris Peace Accords|serious forthcoming peace negotiations in Paris]], he informed all three candidates on a [[conference call]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Two weeks before the election, Director of the [[Bureau of the Budget]] [[Charles Zwick]] sent a memorandum to all department heads urging them to be, "considerate of possible needs of the incoming administration, leaving to them decisions on moves, purchases, and other actions that can be delayed, so that such action can be tailored as closely as possible to the new administration's policies and programs."<ref name="Zentner">((cite journal |last1=Zentner |first1=Joseph L. |title=Presidential Transitions and the Perpetuation of Programs: The Johnson-Nixon Experience |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |date=1972 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=5–15 |doi=10.2307/446730 |jstor=446730 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/446730 |access-date=3 June 2021 |issn=0043-4078))</ref>

==Official transition==
[[File:Pierre Hotel from Looking towards Fifth Avenue from Central Park during Autumn, NYC.jpg|thumb|Nixon headquartered his transition at [[The Pierre]] hotel in [[New York City]].]]

After the election, Nixon's transition effort continued to be headed by Franklin B. Lincoln Jr.<ref>((cite web |title=Franklin B. Lincoln Jr.; Nixon Transition Aide |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-06-mn-53727-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 6, 2021 |date=November 6, 1993))</ref><ref>((cite web |last1=McGaffin |first1=William |title=Hats off to Tradition of Inauguration! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/254558975 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Press and Sun-Bulletin |agency=The Press–Chicago Daily News |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=January 19, 1969))</ref>

Nixon headquartered his transition in a small suite of offices at [[The Pierre]] hotel in New York City.<ref>((cite journal |last1=Pfiffner |first1=James P. |title=The Carter-Reagan Transition: Hitting the Ground Running |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27547983 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |access-date=February 4, 2021 |pages=623–645 |date=1983|volume=13 |issue=4 |jstor=27547983 ))</ref><ref name="evolved"/> The Pierre had the advantage of being near to both Nixon's personal residence and the former headquarters for the presidential campaign.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> Nixon had opted to headquarter it in a small suite of offices at the New York hotel over the space in Washington, D.C. that Johnson had previously prepared, before the election, for use by the president-elect.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="Brauer_pg131"/> However, Nixon's transition made use of that Washington, D.C. office space for some advance team staff and lower-level transition workers.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="Brauer_pg131"/> It was utilized by Pierre Hotel-based higher-ups of the transition team as a working space during visits to Washington, D.C.<ref name="Brauer_pg131"/> Nixon used it briefly on his visits to Washington, D.C. during the transition period.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Nixon and the outgoing administration of Lyndon B. Johnson each received $450,000 from the federal government to fund the transition, as allotted by the Presidential Transition Act of 1963.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="GAO">((cite web |title=Nixon, Richard – Transition Expenditures: General Accounting Office Audit (2) |url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0067/7773945.pdf |website=www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov |publisher=Comptroller General of the United States |access-date=February 6, 2021 |date=November 16, 1970))</ref><ref>((cite web |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=David E. |title=Reagan Transition Costs Will Exceed $2 Million |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/659446958 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Times Argus | agency= Times News Service |access-date=February 4, 2021 |language=en | url-access= subscription |date=December 9, 1980))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=JUST ASK Where does the money come from to pay Bill Clinton's transition team expenses? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/138152401 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Democrat and Chronicle |access-date=February 2, 2021 |language=en | url-access=subscription |date=November 13, 1992))</ref> Nixon's was the first transition to receive federal funding.<ref name="evolved"/> While the act did not specify how the $900,000 for transitions was to specifically be divided, Johnson decided that $375,000 each would go to the outgoing and incoming president, and $75,000 each would go to the outgoing and incoming vice presidents.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> In addition to these funds, Nixon also utilized privately-raised funds.<ref name="evolved"/>

Nixon was provided with government services, such as communications, planes, and [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection, during the transition.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Top advisors of Nixon during his transition included [[Robert Finch (American politician)|Robert Finch]], H. R. Haldeman, [[Bryce Harlow]], and [[John N. Mitchell]].<ref name="Brauer_pg131">Brauer, p. 131</ref>

===Role of the outgoing Johnson administration===
After it became clear that Nixon had won the election, Johnson sent him a congratulations, and Nixon cordially replied.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> Additionally, Humphrey had an exchange with Nixon.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Johnson was amicable towards Nixon during the transition, despite being privately aware that, as a presidential candidate, Nixon had been involved in [[Paris Peace Accords#Sabotage of negotiations by Nixon campaign|an effort to sabotage Johnson's Vietnamese peace talks]].<ref name="Shribman"/><ref name="UVA">((cite web |title=How the 1968 Presidential Transition Compares to Today's |url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/how-1968-presidential-transition-compares-todays |website=UVA Today |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |date=December 1, 2020))</ref> Nixon suggested to the press, and soon after directly to Johnson, that he expected that, in his [[lame duck (politics)|lame duck]] period, that Johnson would consult Nixon on significant matters, a notion that Johnson found disagreeable.<ref name="Shribman"/> Johnson made it clear that the nation would only have one president at a time.<ref name="UVA"/> Johnson made this clear to the press as well.<ref name="UVA"/>

Shortly after the election, Humphrey and Nixon met with one another in [[Florida]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/> The meeting has been described as having been friendly.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

On November 7, Franklin B. Lincoln Jr. met with Charles S. Murphy at the White House to discuss plans for the transition.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

On November 11 (six days after the election), Nixon and his wife [[Pat Nixon|Pat]] joined Johnson and his wife [[Lady Bird Johnson|Lady Bird]] at the White House.<ref name="Shribman"/> The couples first had a lunch together.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> Johnson then had a private discussion with Nixon.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> Nixon spoke both with Johnson and others that day about the prospects of a peace agreement in [[Vietnam]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="GAO"/> Nixon also had a conference with top officials of Johnson's administration during this White House visit.<ref>((cite web |title=White House Conference |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/272805156/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Wausau Daily Herald |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |format=November 12, 1968))</ref> Johnson and Nixon also held a joint [[press conference]].<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Johnson made available to Nixon use of the presidential aircraft.<ref name="Shribman"/> Nixon's advisers were granted office space across the road from the [[White House]], access to the White House [[telephone switchboard]], and automobiles.<ref name="Shribman"/>

Johnson had also offered Nixon that he would brief incoming [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] secretaries.<ref>((cite web |title=Photos: Presidents in Post-Election Transition |url=https://www.wsj.com/story/photos-presidents-in-post-election-transition-a31adf44 |website=WSJ |access-date=February 6, 2021))</ref>

During the transition, Johnson's administration prepared files to be transferred to the offices in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]] that Johnson would utilize until the completion of both the [[Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs]] and the [[Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library]] at the [[University of Texas]], which would house his White House documents.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

The lame duck Johnson administration took a number of actions that they hoped would secure the continuation of some of Johnson's [[Great Society]] policies. For instance, they worked to get Congress to pass a statement that about the nation's ten-year housing goals in order to corner Nixon's administration into having to make an active decision as to whether or not they'd stay committed to the goals of the [[Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968]].<ref name="Zentner"/> In 1968, administrators gave increased amounts of federal funds to the [[Model Cities Program]] in hopes that these funds could help the program survive if Nixon cut its funding once taking office.<ref name="Zentner"/>

===Ongoing Vietnamese peace talks===
On November 10, Nixon met with [[United States Ambassador to South Vietnam]] [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]] (who had previously been Nixon's own vice presidential running mate in the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 election]]) to discuss Vietnam and peace talks.<ref name="GAO"/> On November 11, Nixon met with Johnson and others to discuss to potential for a peace agreement in Vietnam.<ref name="GAO"/> Johnson and Nixon were able to agree on a plan in which the Johnson administration would consult with Nixon so that the Johnson administration could continue the peace negotiations that were ongoing with public assurance of backing from the incoming Nixon administration.<ref name="GAO"/> Nixon appointed [[Robert Daniel Murphy]] his liaison to the [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] during the transition.<ref name="GAO"/>

On December 5, Nixon met with [[W. Averell Harriman]], the chief United States negotiator in the ongoing Vietnamese peace talks.<ref name="GAO"/>

On January 6, Nixon announced that Lodge would be replacing Harriman as Chief U.S. Negotiator for Vietnamese peace talks once Nixon took office.<ref name="GAO"/>

This would be the last presidential transition to occur while the United States was at war until the 2008–2009 [[presidential transition of Barack Obama]].<ref>((cite journal |last1=Burke |first1=John P. |title=The Contemporary Presidency: The Obama Presidential Transition: An Early Assessment |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |date=2009 |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=574–604 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2009.03691.x |jstor=41427379 |issn=0360-4918|doi-access=free ))</ref>

===Activities of Nixon===
Early in his transition, Nixon spent time both vacationing and holding meetings with aides at a house he had rented from [[George Smathers]] in [[Biscayne Bay]], Florida.<ref name="Henryjournal"/><ref name="Brauer_pg131"/><ref name="Semple1"/> On November 8, three days after he election, Nixon had an informal meeting with his close advisors discussing the transition,<ref name="GAO"/> and the next day he met with [[Vice President-elect of the United States|Vice President-elect]] [[Spiro Agnew]] to discuss what responsibilities Angew would have in the administration.<ref name="GAO"/> On November 13, Nixon declared plans to restructure the White House staff.<ref name="GAO"/>

On November 29, Nixon sent [[William Scranton]] to the Middle East on a fact finding mission;<ref name="GAO"/> Scranton would meet with Nixon on December 13, after returning from the Middle East.<ref name="GAO"/>

Soon after winning the election, it was announced by Nixon press spokesman [[Ronald Ziegler]] that Nixon's selections for his Cabinet would not be announced any earlier than December 5<ref name="Semple1">((cite web |last1=Semple |first1=Robert B. Jr. |title=Nixon Rules Out Trip Overseas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/61248963 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The San Bernardino County Sun  |agency=New York Times News Service |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=November 8, 1968))</ref> (on which day Nixon announced that he had gotten retiring [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] [[Earl Warren]] to agree to continue on the court until June 1969, in order to provide Nixon with more time to select a successor).<ref name=warren1/> On December 12, Nixon took to national radio and television to announce Cabinet picks, and met with President Johnson to discuss the situation in the Middle East.<ref name="GAO"/><ref name="cormier1">((cite web |last=Cormier |first=Frank |title=Nixon Picks Cabinet: No Shocks, All GOP |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/619225595/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Sacramento Bee |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=December 12, 1968))</ref>

On December 14, Nixon spoke with Israeli Defense Minister [[Moshe Dayan]],<ref name="GAO"/> and the next day Nixon met with Republican congressional leaders to discuss plans for legislation over the coming year.<ref name="GAO"/> On the 16th, Nixon announced that he would retain [[J. Edgar Hoover]] as [[director of the FBI]] and [[Richard Helms]] as [[director of the CIA]],<ref name="GAO"/> and on the 17th Nixon visited with [[Secretary General of the United Nations]] [[U Thant]] and other officials of the United Nations.<ref name="GAO"/>

On December 22, the president-elect walked his daughter [[Julie Nixon Eisenhower|Julie]] down the aisle as she married [[David Eisenhower]] in New York City.<ref>((cite news |last1=Contrera |first1=Jessica |title=Julie Nixon married David Eisenhower 50 years ago — and refused a White House ceremony |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/12/22/julie-nixon-married-david-eisenhower-years-ago-refused-white-house-ceremony/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=20 May 2021 |date=22 December 2018))</ref>

===Activities of Spiro Agnew===
It was reported, days into the transition, that there had been very little communication between Nixon and [[Vice President-elect of the United States|Vice President-elect]] [[Spiro Agnew]], who outlets noted had not received any mention in Nixon's election victory speech.<ref name="Semple1"/> Agnew would, soon after these reports, meet with Nixon after the election in Biscayne Bay. However, Agnew would not be heavily involved in the transition, and would not even be invited to visit the transition's New York City headquarters until November 27. Instead, during the transition, Agnew partook in numerous activities. He vacationed on [[Saint Croix]], where he played a round of [[golf]] with outgoing vice president (and Nixon's election opponent) Hubert Humphrey and [[Edmund Muskie]], who had been Humphrey's running mate. Agnew went to Memphis for the [[1968 Liberty Bowl]], and to New York to attend the wedding of Nixon's daughter Julie to David Eisenhower. Agnew was a fan of the [[Baltimore Colts]] and, in January, was the guest of team owner [[Carroll Rosenbloom]] at [[Super Bowl III]].<ref>((cite book |last=Coffey |first=Joseph P. |title=Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=89–91|year=2015 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=978-1440841415))</ref>

===Selection of appointees===
Nixon and his closest advisors focused and choosing the staff for Cabinet and major Executive Office and White House positions, while staff assistants handled reviewing candidates and selecting picks for the rest of the roughly 2,000 positions that Nixon would be able to make appointments to.<ref name="GAO"/> The personnel search component of the transition had a peak staff of between 125 and 150 people.<ref name="GAO"/> Nixon involved himself personally in the selection of individuals for cabinet-level positions.<ref name="Brauer144">Brauer, p. 144</ref>

An effort was made to have a broad pool of candidates for positions in the Nixon administration.<ref name="GAO"/> Nixon's transition became the first to employ a professional recruiter.<ref name="evolved"/>

Because he had only won a narrow victory in the popular vote, Nixon felt that he needed to make some Cabinet appointments that would signal unity.<ref name="Brauerpg145">Brauer, p. 145</ref> He had also made a campaign promise to consider Democrats for his Cabinet.<ref name="cormier1"/> He sought a number out, but those he asked to join his Cabinet rejected the offer. Nixon publicly disclosed, during the transition, that his election opponent, Hubert Humphrey, had declined an offer to serve as [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations]].<ref name=warren1>((cite web |title=Warren To Continue Until June |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/682160082/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Lexington Herald |agency=Associated Press |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=5 Dec 1968))</ref> Nixon also saw [[Henry M. Jackson]] decline an offer to serve as [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]]. Per the later recounting of [[John Ehrlichman]]. this was because Nixon could not fulfill Jackson's demand that [[Daniel J. Evans|Dan Evans]], the Republican governor of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], appoint a Democrat to fill his U.S. Senate seat if he vacated it to become secretary of defense.<ref name="Brauerpg145"/>

On December 12, in Washington, D.C., Nixon held an event announcement of his selections for all twelve Cabinet secretary positions. The announcement was broadcast on television and radio.<ref name="firstimpressions"/><ref name="Brauer144"/> No president had ever announced their cabinet this way, all at once in a grand event.<ref name="Brauer144"/> Many of the selections had been leaked to the press prior to the announcement.<ref name="Brauerpg145"/>

Nixon's Cabinet was far less representative of the United States populace than he had set out for it to be.<ref name="Brauerpg145"/> It was noted in the press, after Nixon's unveiling of his Cabinet picks, that Nixon had not named a single [[black person]], woman, Jew, or Democrat to a Cabinet post.<ref name="cautiousviews"/> His cabinet picks were entirely [[White people|white]] men.<ref name="firstimpressions"/><ref name="Brauerpg145"/> His cabinet was also noted to be entirely Republican.<ref name="Brauerpg145"/> The lack of a Democrat in his Cabinet came despite a campaign promise during the election that he would look to men from both parties and of differing perspectives to unite the country.<ref name="cormier1"/> Nixon's communications director [[Herb Klein (journalist)|Herb Klein]] defended this the day Cabinet selections were picked by declaring that Nixon's selections were actually, "all independents who vote Republican".<ref name="cormier1"/> Nixon press spokesman Ronald Ziegler also defended this by promising that the, yet-to-be-announced, United States ambassador to the United Nations would be a Democrat.<ref name="cormier1"/>

Nixon was slow to select appointees outside of his cabinet members. On January 17, the ''[[New York Times]]'' was only able to count a total of 81 announced designees, with most being White House staff.<ref name="Henryjournal"/> This left Nixon's administration lacking staff at the start of his presidency, and relying greatly on holdovers from Johnson's administration.<ref name="Henryjournal"/>

Due to his belief in "Cabinet government", Nixon would allow appointees of his liberty in choosing their own subordinates.<ref name="evolved"/> This would have consequences in his presidency. For example, at times, his administration would pursue more liberal domestic policies than those of Nixon's own philosophy.<ref name="evolved"/> Perhaps, partially in consequence, Nixon would spend much of his presidency endeavoring for greater control of the executive branch, and would distrust his own Cabinet and members of the government bureaucracy, leading him to expand the size of the White House staff.<ref name="evolved"/>

====Defense and foreign policy====
*[[Melvin Laird]] as [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="demosheap"/>
*[[David Packard]] as [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense|deputy secretary of defense]] (announced December 30, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[William P. Rogers]] as [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="cautiousviews">((cite web |title=World Reaction To Nixon Cabinet Draws Cautious Views On Choices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/619225816/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Sacramento Bee |agency= United Press International |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access= subscription |date=December 12, 1968))</ref>
*[[Elliot L. Richardson]] as [[United States Under Secretary of State|under secretary of state]] (announced January 4, 1969)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Charles Yost]] as [[United States representative to the United Nations]] (announced December 20, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Henry Kissinger]] as [[United States National Security Advisor|national security advisor]] (announced December 2, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Richard Helms]] as [[director of the CIA]] (announced December 16, 1968) ''incumbent officeholder''<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[J. Edgar Hoover]] as [[director of the FBI]] (announced December 16, 1968) ''incumbent officeholder''<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]] as chief U.S. negotiator for Vietnamese peace talks (announced January 5, 1969)<ref name="NixonAppointsLodge">((cite web |title=Nixon Appoints Lodge Chief U.S. Negotiator For Paris Peace Talks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/281530595 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) |agency=Associated Press |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=6 Jan 1969))</ref>
*[[Lawrence Walsh]] as deputy U.S. negotiator for Vietnamese peace talks (announced January 5, 1969)<ref name="NixonAppointsLodge"/>
*Clarence D. Palmby, assistant secretary of agriculture for international affairs and commodity programs (announced January 6, 1969)<ref name="twodeputies"/>

====Domestic policy====
*[[John N. Mitchell]] as [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[Winton M. Blount]] as [[United States Postmaster General|postmaster general]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[Clifford M. Hardin]] as [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|secretary of agriculture]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="demosheap"/>
*[[Robert Finch (American politician)|Robert Finch]] as [[secretary of health, education, and welfare]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[George W. Romney]] as [[Secretary of housing and urban development]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[Wally Hickel]] as [[United States Secretary of the Interior|secretary of the interior]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="demosheap"/>
*[[George Shultz]] as [[United States Secretary of Labor|secretary of labor]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[John A. Volpe]] as [[United States Secretary of Transportation|secretary of transportation]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="demosheap"/>
*[[Phil Campbell (agricultural commissioner)|Phil Campbell]], undersecretary of agriculture (announced January 6, 1969)<ref name="twodeputies">((cite web |title=Nixon Appoints Two Deputies To Secretary of Agriculture |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/67426992 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Florence Morning News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=7 Jan 1969))</ref>
*[[James Day Hodgson]] as [[United States Deputy Secretary of Labor|deputy secretary of labor]] (announced January 10, 1969)<ref name="GAO"/>
*James E. Johnson, to fill vacant seat on the [[United States Civil Service Commission]] (announced January 17, 1969)<ref>((cite web |title=Nixon Appoints Negro to Civil Service Panel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/46461957 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Abilene Reporter-News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=18 Jan 1969))</ref>
*[[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]], secretary of the [[United States Domestic Policy Council|Urban Affairs Council]]<ref>Brauer, p. 136</ref> and liaison for [[District of Columbia]] affairs<ref name="GAO"/>

====Economic policy====
*[[Maurice Stans]] as [[secretary of commerce]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/><ref name="demosheap">((cite web |title=Demos Heap Praise On Nixon Cabinet Choices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/619225816/ |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Sacramento Bee |agency=Associated Press |access-date=February 6, 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=December 12, 1968))</ref>
*[[David M. Kennedy (politician)|David M. Kennedy]] as [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|secretary of the treasury]] (announced December 12, 1968)<ref name="cormier1"/>
*[[Robert P. Mayo]], director of the [[Office of Management and Budget]] (announced December 11, 1968)<ref>((cite web |title=Robert Mayo Chicago Banker Named Nixon's Budget Diector |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/109468954/? |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Courier-Journal |agency=Los Angeles Times-Washington Post Service |access-date=20 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=12 Dec 1968))</ref>
*[[Paul McCracken (economist)|Paul McCracken]] as chairman of [[Council of Economic Advisors]] (announced December 4, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>

====White House staff====
*[[H. R. Haldeman]] as [[White House chief of staff]] (announced November 13, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/><ref name="firstimpressions"/>
*[[Ron Ziegler]], [[White House press secretary]]<ref name="firstimpressions"/>
*[[Herb Klein (journalist)|Herbert Klein]] as [[White House Director of Communications|Executive Branch communications director]] (announced November 25, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[John Ehrlichman]] as [[White House counsel]] (announced November 14, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Lee Alvin DuBridge]] as [[science advisor to the president]] (announced December 3, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[Bryce Harlow]] as assistant to the president for legislation and Congressional affairs (announced November 12, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>
*[[James Keogh (speechwriter)|James Keogh]], managing editor of White House papers<ref>((cite web |title=Nixon Appoints Managing Editor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/427145757 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News, Wilkes-Barre Record |agency=Associated Press |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=11 Dec 1968))</ref>

====Other====
*[[Frank Shakespeare]], director of the United States Information Agency (announced January 13, 1968)<ref name="GAO"/>

==Assessment of the transition==
The Nixon transition is considered by some to have been a smooth transition.<ref name="GAO"/><ref name="Shribman">((cite web |last1=Shribman |first1=David M. |title=Opinion: After a bitter election in 1968, the transition came off without a hitch. We need a moment of national unity like that now. |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/solutions/2020/12/03/after-bitter-election-1968-presidential-transition-smooth/3808058001/ |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |access-date=February 5, 2021 |date=December 3, 2020))</ref> [[Stephen H. Hess]] of the [[Brookings Institution]] wrote in March 2001, that "Richard Nixon’s transition was one of the smoothest in recent memory."<ref name="firstimpressions">((cite web |last1=Hess |first1=Stephen |title=First Impressions: A Look Back at Five Presidential Transitions |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/first-impressions-a-look-back-at-five-presidential-transitions/ |website=www.brookings.edu |publisher=Brookings Institution |access-date=21 May 2021 |date=1 March 2001))</ref>

==Further reading==
*[https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/research/transition-interviews/nixon-administration.html Nixon Administration Transition Interviews] –[[National Archives and Records Administration]]

==References==
((Reflist))

===Sources cited===
*((cite book |last1=Brauer |first1=Carl M. |title=Presidential Transitions: Eisenhower Through Reagan |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0195040511))

((United States presidential transitions))
((Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson))
((Presidency of Richard Nixon))
((Hubert Humphrey))

[[Category:November 1968 events in the United States]]
[[Category:December 1968 events in the United States]]
[[Category:January 1969 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Presidency of Richard Nixon]]
[[Category:United States presidential transitions|Nixon, Richard]]
[[Category:Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson]]
[[Category:Hubert Humphrey]]

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