Presidential Recordings Program

In this call, President Johnson asks Judge Thurgood Marshall to be Solicitor General to replace Archibald Cox, who was planning to resign his post and return to his position at Harvard University's Law School. In 1961, President Kennedy had appointed, Marshall, at the time Chief Counsel for the NAACP, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Following up on their phone conversation earlier in the afternoon in which President Johnson offered Thurgood Marshall the position of Solicitor General (see Conversation WH6507-01-8307), Marshall called back to reschedule his visit to the White House.

President Johnson: Yes?

White House Operator: The Solicitor General, 9-0.

President Johnson: Hello?

Thurgood Marshall: Good morning, sir. Happy New Year.

President Johnson: Fine, Judge. Glad to hear you.