Editing Lyndon B. Johnson (section)

===Succession===
{{Main|First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson}}
{{Further|Assassination of John F. Kennedy}}
[[File:LBJOathOfOffice1963.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Johnson is sworn in as [[President of the United States|president]] aboard [[Air Force One]] at [[Dallas Love Field]] two hours and eight minutes following [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy's assassination]] as [[Lady Bird Johnson|Mrs. Johnson]] and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Mrs. Kennedy]] look on.]]
President Kennedy was [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassinated]] on November 22, 1963, in [[Dallas]], Texas.<ref name="dallek4951"/> Later that day, Johnson took the [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|presidential oath of office]] aboard ''[[Air Force One]]''.<ref name="KennethTWalsh"/> [[Cecil Stoughton]]'s iconic photograph of Johnson taking the oath of office as Mrs. Kennedy looks on is the most famous photo ever taken aboard a presidential aircraft.<ref name="AirForceOne">{{harvp|terHorst|Albertazzie|1979|pages=223, 225-226}}</ref><ref name="KennethTWalsh">{{harvp|Walsh|2003|pages=xv, 2, 17, 73–78}}</ref> Johnson was sworn in by District Court judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]] and is to date the only president in U.S. history to be sworn in by a woman.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Johnson Treatment: how Lyndon B. Johnson took over the presidency and made it his own|year=1965|first=Jack|last=Bell|location=New York|publisher=Harper & Row|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|terHorst|Albertazzie|1979|page=226}}</ref>

Johnson was convinced of the need to make an immediate show of transition of power after the assassination to provide stability to a grieving nation.<ref>{{harvp|Walsh|2003|pages=77–78}}</ref> He and the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]], not knowing whether the assassin [[Lone wolf (terrorism)|acted alone]] or as part of a [[Conspiracy (criminal)|broader conspiracy]], felt compelled to return rapidly to Washington, D.C.; this was greeted by some with assertions that he was in too much haste to assume power.<ref name="dallek4951">{{harvnb|Dallek|1998|pages=49–51}}</ref> In response to the public demand for answers and the growing number of [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]], Johnson established a commission headed by Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]], known as the [[Warren Commission]], to investigate Kennedy's assassination.<ref>{{harvnb|Dallek|1998|page=51}}</ref> The commission conducted extensive research and hearings and unanimously concluded that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] acted alone in the assassination.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Max|last=Holland|title=The Key to the Warren Report|journal=American Heritage|volume=46|number=7|year=1995|pages=50–59|url=https://www.washingtondecoded.com/site/files/the_key_to_the_warren_report.pdf |access-date=February 22, 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Cabinet Meeting July 1965.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Johnson at a July 1965 Cabinet meeting]]
When Johnson assumed office, he asked the existing Cabinet to remain in place.<ref>{{cite web| title=Lyndon B. Johnson's Cabinet| publisher=The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library| location=Austin, Texas| url=http://www.lbjlibrary.net/collections/quick-facts/lyndon-baines-johnson-cabinet.html| access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref> Despite his notoriously poor relationship with Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy stayed on as Attorney General until September 1964, when he resigned to [[1964 United States Senate election in New York|run for the U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1998|p=58}}</ref> Four of the Kennedy cabinet members Johnson inherited—Secretary of State [[Dean Rusk]], Secretary of the Interior [[Stewart Udall]], Secretary of Agriculture [[Orville L. Freeman]], and Secretary of Labor [[W. Willard Wirtz]]—served until the end of Johnson's presidency.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Onion| first=Rebecca| title='I Rely On You. I Need You.' How LBJ Begged JFK's Cabinet To Stay| date=November 22, 2013| url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/11/22/lyndon_johnson_the_new_president_s_remarks_to_the_kennedy_cabinet.html| magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| publisher=The Slate Group| location=New York City}}</ref> Other Kennedy holdovers, including Secretary of Defense [[Robert McNamara]], left office during Johnson's tenure. Although Johnson had no official chief of staff, [[Walter Jenkins]] presided over daily operations at the White House. [[George Reedy]], who was Johnson's second-longest-serving aide, assumed the post of [[White House Press Secretary|press secretary]] when John F. Kennedy's own [[Pierre Salinger]] left that post in March 1964.<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1998|p=66}}</ref> [[Horace Busby]] served primarily as a speechwriter and political analyst.<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1998|p=67}}</ref> [[Bill Moyers]] handled scheduling and speechwriting part-time.<ref>{{harvp|Dallek|1998|p=68}}</ref>