WILLIAM T. KENDALL FILES, (1971) 1974-77

William T. Kendall came to the White House in February 1975 directly from the staff of Senator Charles Mathias, Jr. He was appointed deputy assistant for legislative affairs (Senate) and reported to Max L. Friedersdorf, head of the Congressional Relations Office. His predecessor, Tom C. Korologos, had served President Nixon since 1971 and remained on President Ford's staff from August through December 1974. Until early 1976, Kendall was assisted by Patrick O'Donnell and thereafter, by Joseph Jenckes.

Kendall handled liaison between the White House and the United States Senate. He and his assistant promoted and interpreted administration policies; tracked pending legislation and presidential appointments; and advised the president of probable voting results and views on legislation. Their duties included preparing briefing papers and proposals for the president, participating in congressional leadership meetings, and suggesting specific presidential meetings and telephone calls. They also handled routine matters such as personal requests from senators for signed photographs, and invitations to the White House and various social events.

The files document White House lobbying, presidential meetings with senators, efforts toward Senate approval of presidential nominations, and continuous evaluation of senators' views on legislation and the potential outcome of votes. The files contain substantial material on several legislative topics, especially Vietnam, military spending, intelligence community oversight and various energy issues.

This collection contains materials from Kendall's predecessor, Tom Korologos, including occasional materials from the Nixon administration. These cover anti-Vietnam War vote tabulations and congressional response to the mining of North Vietnamese ports; extensive handwritten notes, often of conversations, regarding pending legislation and appointments; and miscellaneous printed material.

Related Materials (September 1985)
All the files of the Congressional Relations Office staff will open by the end of 1985; especially noteworthy are the materials of Vernon Loen and Charles Leppert who were responsible for liaison with the House and whose files document intelligence, energy and foreign policy issues. White House Central Files categories Legislation (LE) and Federal Government-Congress (FG 30 to FG 39) contain material on White House relations with Congress.