With Defense Secretary Robert McNamara Set to Leave Office, President Lyndon B. Johnson Thanks Him for His Service and Work on a Key Government Task Force

Robert McNamara, the young phenom and head of the Ford Motor Company, was named Secretary of Defense by President Kennedy. He came to be considered one of the greatest men to hold that Cabinet office. He grew more and more controversial after 1966 because of his differences with the president and the Joint Chiefs of Staff over Vietnam policy. There were frequent rumors that he would leave office. Yet there was great surprise when President Johnson announced on November 29, 1967 that McNamara would resign to become president of the World Bank. The increasing intensity of the antiwar movement in the United States and the approaching presidential campaign, in which Johnson was expected to seek reelection, figured heavily in explanations of McNamara’s departure. So also did McNamara’s differences with the Joint Chiefs of Staff over the bombing of North Vietnam, the number of U.S. troops to be assigned to the ground war, and construction along the 17th parallel separating South and North Vietnam of an anti-infiltration ground barrier, which McNamara favored and the Chiefs opposed. The President’s announcement of McNamara’s move to the World Bank stressed his stated interest in the job and that he deserved a change after seven years as secretary of defense, a much longer tenure than any of his predecessors. McNamara left office on February 29, 1968; for his dedicated efforts, the President awarded him both the Medal of Freedom and the Distinguished Service Medal. He served as head of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981.

The concept of the “task force” became very popular during the Johnson Administration. These task forces were working groups whose goal was the formulation of specific policy recommendations for the upcoming legislative year. Unlike a commission or committee whose meetings and findings were public, the task force usually functioned under complete secrecy, in an attempt to encourage more candid and innovative thinking. The task force report was prepared solely for use by the Office of the President.

In 1964, under Bill Moyer’s coordination, the task force developed on an essentially ad hoc basis. This development became more refined in 1965, and by 1966, under Joseph Califano’s coordination, a set task force process had developed. Between January and July the task forces were set-up; in October the task forces compiled their reports. After transmittal of the report to the Office of the President, Califano, Larry Levinson (and by 1967 James Gaither, Fred Bohen, and Matthew Nimitz) reviewed the task force proposals, as did the Bureau of the Budget and Council of Economic Advisors, preparing summaries for the President. Upon receipt of the summaries of the proposals, President Johnson would pick his programs for the coming legislative year. The proposals were either highlighted in the State of the Union Message, or in special messages sent to Congress after the State of the Union Message.

One of the task forces set up in 1966 but whose work was not completed until 1967, was the Task Force on Government Organization. It recommended such measures as merging the Department of Commerce and Labor into a new department of economic affairs, creating a national statistical data center, establishing a new office of program coordination, and redefining the role of the Secretary of State on foreign policy issues.

Robert McNamara was a member of this Task Force, which dissolved in October 1967 after completing its reports. Johnson wrote to McNamara thanking him for his service on the task force.

Typed letter signed, on White House letterhead, October 11, 1967, to McNamara. “Dear Bob: I want to thank you personally for your service on the Task Force on Government Organization.

“I have received the last of your reports and look forward to a thorough review of your recommendations. I am sure that in these reports lie the keys to better government – government that – given the structure, the direction and the will – can fashion a better life for our people.

“Your work will have a lasting impact on the future of our country. You have provided innovative ideas that are essential if the instrument of government is to serve most effectively the needs of our people in these fast-changing times. You are to be commended – and thanked – for lending your self to this important cause.”

Just the next month it was announced that McNamara was leaving the Defense Department for the World Bank. Undoubtedly, Johnson knew McNamara was leaving when he wrote this letter.

A very uncommon letter of a president to one of his Cabinet members.