David M. Kennedy (1905-1996) was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Richard M. Nixon, who praised his "good streak of native midwestern conservatism" at a time of high taxes, a rising cost of living, and large military expenditures expenditures for the war in Vietnam. Kennedy deplored the U.S. trade deficit and envisioned an international trade system designed to prevent countries from erecting trade barriers to deal with payment problems.
Domestically Kennedy gave top priority to inflation, advocating a deflationary policy of high interest rates, a slowing of monetary growth, and a balanced budget. In late 1969 and early 1970, as the economy began to slow down in response to the administration's measures, Kennedy continued to be a spokesman for these policies. However, when the Democrats realized great gains in the 1970 Congressional elections, Nixon brought in a new Secretary of the Treasury, John Connally, to give his cabinet a more bipartisan character. Kennedy was appointed ambassador at large with cabinet status and left Treasury early in 1971.
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