Nixon nominates Lewis Powell to Supreme Court two months after corporate blueprint memo

President Nixon nominates corporate lawyer Lewis Powell to Supreme Court as Associate Justice, just 59 days after Powell wrote confidential memo to Chamber of Commerce calling for business to acquire “political power” and use courts as “most important instrument for social, economic and political change.” Powell’s rapid transition from writing corporate strategy memo to Supreme Court appointment positions him to implement his own blueprint for expanding business power through judicial decisions. Senate confirms nomination 89-1 on December 7, 1971.