Richard Nixon photo

Remarks at the Swearing In of the Cabinet.

January 22, 1969

Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, ladies and gentlemen:

This is an historic occasion in any administration. It involves, of course, the swearing in of our Cabinet.

Before coming down this morning, I was reading a little background with regard to the appropriate term to apply to a Cabinet.

Andrew Jackson was the man who first used the term Kitchen Cabinet.

Theodore Roosevelt called his Cabinet a Tennis Cabinet, because he played tennis.

Herbert Hoover's Cabinet was a Medicine Ball Cabinet.

I have been asked what this Cabinet is. In view of the fact that we started at 8 o'clock in the morning for the swearing in, we will call it a Working Cabinet.

We are honored today to have the Chief Justice of the United States to swear in each member of the Cabinet.

As I call the name of the member of the Cabinet, if he would step forward with his wife---his wife will hold the Bible as the Chief Justice swears in each member of the Cabinet.

The Secretary of State, Mr. William P. Rogers, and Mrs. Rogers.

The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. David M. Kennedy, and Mrs. Kennedy.

The Secretary of Defense, Mr. Melvin R. Laird, and Mrs. Laird.

The Attorney General, Mr. John N. Mitchell, and Mrs. Mitchell.

The Postmaster General, Mr. Winton M. Blount, and Mrs. Blount.

The Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Clifford M. Hardin, and Mrs. Hardin.

Since I missed the name of the next Cabinet officer on nationwide television a few weeks ago, I want to be sure that everybody on television knows that I remembered it on this occasion. The Secretary of Commerce.

I congratulate you, Mr. Starts. [Laughter]

The Secretary of Labor, Mr. George P. Shultz, and Mrs. Shultz.

The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Robert H. Finch, and Mrs. Finch.

Mr. Chief Justice, just another historical note. This is the first time in the history of this Nation that the President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, and the Cabinet officer being sworn in were all born in the State of California.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. George W. Romney, and Mrs. Romney.

The Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Mr. John A. Volpe, and Mrs. Volpe.

Mr. Chief Justice, you will note that I almost automatically started to raise my hand, too, on that occasion.

[To Secretary Volpe] The other night, with all the traffic conditions in Washington, it was very difficult to get a cab. I got a ride with the Secret Service.

Another historical

Note: The President spoke at 8:03 a.m. in the East Room at the White House.

Richard Nixon, Remarks at the Swearing In of the Cabinet. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239842

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