Declassified: Nixon’s secret 1972 plan to move the U.S. capital to San Clemente

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly "unearthed" memos from the National Archives suggest that at the height of the Cold War, President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger drew up blueprints to permanently relocate the United States Capital from Washington, D.C. to San Clemente, California.

The project, codenamed "Western Star," was reportedly born out of Nixon’s deep-seated frustration with the "Beltway atmosphere" and his personal fondness for his "Western White House" estate.

A "Logistical Nightmare"

The declassified documents claim that Kissinger spent months negotiating with California officials to annex thousands of acres of coastline. The plan wasn't just to move the President, but to physically dismantle the Oval Office and transport it via a secret naval convoy through the Panama Canal.

"Nixon believed the humidity in D.C. was a Soviet plot to make him look sweaty during televised addresses," claims an anonymous source posing as a former White House interior decorator. "He wanted the dry, coastal air of Orange County to provide a more 'statesmanlike' glow."

The "Supreme Court Surfboard" Clause

The most controversial part of the "Western Star" memos involves the Supreme Court. Kissinger allegedly proposed that the Justices be relocated to a renovated surf club near Trestles Beach. The memos suggest that oral arguments would be strictly limited to the morning hours so that the Justices could "reflect on constitutional law while observing the Pacific tides."

Why It "Failed"

The plan reportedly collapsed in late 1973 not because of the Watergate scandal, but because Pat Nixon allegedly refused to move her favorite rose bushes from the White House Rose Garden to a desert climate.

When asked for comment, current D.C. historians simply sighed, while residents of San Clemente expressed relief that they didn't have to deal with 1970s-era presidential motorcades blocking the surf breaks.

True story!