Letter Accepting the Resignation of Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs.
Dear Ken:
It is with deepest regret that I accept your resignation as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council effective in March, 1975, as you requested.
Needless to say, you will be greatly missed here at the White House, where you have served so admirably for the past six years. Since the earliest days of the Nixon Administration, you have played a leading and vital role in shaping the direction of national domestic policy. From revenue sharing, welfare reform and health care, to anti-crime legislation, drug-abuse prevention planning and energy policy, your sweep and scope have been across the board. As the President's representative with the Nation's Governors and other local government officials, you have performed superbly. Their praise and universal respect for you should be a special source of satisfaction to you.
Beyond this, however, I want to express my personal appreciation for your contributions to my Administration in its first days and throughout the transition. I am especially grateful for your selflessness in temporarily setting aside your plans to return to the private sector in order to assist in the transition and completion of the 1974 legislative program. Also, your guidance and counsel in helping to shape and establish this Administration's domestic agenda have been immensely valuable.
You may be sure you and your family have Mrs. Ford's and my warmest best wishes for every success and happiness in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
JERRY FORD
[The Honorable Ken Cole, The White House, Washington, D.C.]
Note: Mr. Cole's letter of resignation, dated December 12, 1974, and released with the President's letter, read as follows:
Dear Mr. President:
When President Nixon asked me to join the White House staff six years ago, I came with the personal conviction that the Federal Government had grown so big as to be unresponsive to the people's needs and with the personal desire to help in the restoration of power and responsibility to the people themselves. Through such historic initiatives as General Revenue Sharing, I believe that process of restoration has begun. Your own role has been an indispensable part of the process from the beginning, and your continuing leadership will carry it forward to completion.
Serving my country has always been of the highest importance to me, and the opportunity to participate at the highest leeds of government will always be the most meaningful and the most rewarding experience of my life. You and your predecessor gave me the opportunity to serve in a way I never envisioned, even in my wildest dreams, and my gratitude for the confidence reposed in me is literally beyond expression.
Now, I believe, it is time for me to pursue my career in the private sector. With mixed feelings of regret and thanks and anticipation, I ask therefore that you accept my resignation as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council, effective March 2, 1975.
We are fortunate to have you as our President. We need your leadership to restore confidence in government. But more importantly we need your leadership to restore confidence in ourselves. Government cannot do everything for everybody, but individual Americans, working together, can meet and beat the toughest of challenges. I believe you are setting the example for us to follow, and that the people will respond. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have been able to work with you. If as a private citizen I can be of help, please know that you can count on me.
Marilyn and I wish you great success in the future and wish for you, Mrs. Ford and your family all the happiness that life can bring.
Very respectfully,
KENNETH R. COLE JR.
[The President, The White House, Washington, D.C.]
Gerald R. Ford, Letter Accepting the Resignation of Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/256172