PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 05/29/1953 - HFSID 84542

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Dwight D. Eisenhower invites his friend Lewis L. Strauss to a stag dinner.
Typed Letter Signed: "D.E." as President, 1p, 7x10¼. The White House, 1953 May 29.To Admiral Lewis Strauss, The White House. In full:"I wonder if it would be convenient for you to come to an informal stag dinner on the evening of Monday, June eighth. I hope to gather a small group of about a dozen, and I should like very much for you to attend, if it is possible for you to do so. Because of the informality of the occasion, I suggest that we meet at the White House about half past seven, have a reasonably early dinner, and devote the evening to a general chat. While I am most helpful that you can attend, I realize that you already may have engagements which would interfere. If so, I assure you of my complete understanding. I shall probably wear a black tie, but business suit will be entirely appropriate With personal regard, Sincerely," On his personal monogrammed presidential stationery. Admiral Lewis Strausshad served on the Atomic Energy Commission from 1946-1950. In 1953, President Eisenhower appointed him Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, a post he held until 1958. On November 13, 1958, Strauss was appointed Secretary of Commerce by President Eisenhower. On June 27, 1959, by a vote of 49-46, the U.S. Senate refused to confirm Strauss as Secretary of Commerce, the first Cabinet nominee to be rejected by the Senate since 1925. There was opposition to his appointment because of Strauss' role as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Specifically, in June 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the head of the Los Alamos laboratory for atomic research during WWII, was denied security clearance by the Atomic Energy Commission. There were Senators who voted against Strauss' nomination for that reason alone. File note (unknown hand) at upper left, staple holes also there. Fine condition.