New White House Structures for Space Decisions

At the start of his administration, President Nixon had established an Advisory Council on Executive Management, headed by industrialist Roy Ash; it soon became known as the Ash Council. That council soon came up with recommendations for reorganizing the Executive Office of the President to better serve Nixon’s interests. It would take until mid-1970 to turn the Ash Council’s recommendations into reality; the dysfunction of the FY1971 budget process was an important influence on confirming to Nixon that a major change in White House organization was needed. Richard Nixon’s goal was to centralize decision making in a few trusted individuals, with himself presiding as the final arbiter of his administration’s actions without getting directly involved with his cabinet members or other top agency officials.