Editing Strom Thurmond (section)

== United States Senator ==
{{main|US Senate career of Strom Thurmond}}

=== 1950s ===
The incumbent U.S. senator from South Carolina, [[Burnet R. Maybank]], was unopposed for re-election in 1954, but he died two months before election day. The state Democratic Party selected [[Edgar A. Brown]] to replace Maybank without conducting a primary election.

Thurmond organized a [[United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1954|write-in campaign]] for the vacant Senate seat. He pledged that if he won, he would resign in 1956 to force a primary election. Easily winning the 1954 election, he was the first person to be elected to the [[South Carolina United States Senate election, 1954|U.S. Senate]] as a [[write-in candidate]].{{Efn|It has only been repeated once, in 2010, by [[Lisa Murkowski]].}} In January 1955, Thurmond expressed his view that federal encroachment on states' rights was among the biggest threats to American life and violated the Constitution.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 9, 1955|title=Solon Says States' Rights Great|work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]]|publisher=Monroe Morning World|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83088256/solon-says-states-rights-great/|access-date=August 9, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In July, Thurmond supported the Republican [[Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower Administration]]{{'s}} bill for an expanded military reserve law over the alternate plan proposed by fellow Democratic Senator [[Richard Russell Jr.|Richard Russell]].<ref>{{cite news|date=July 11, 1955|title=Sen. Thurmond Backs Fight For Military Reserve Law|newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FSYeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0pkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2787%2C1216950|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref>

Thurmond co-wrote the first version of the [[Southern Manifesto]], stating disagreement with the 1954 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruling in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' that declared that segregated public schools were unconstitutional and ordered them integrated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Crespino|first=Joseph|date=April 29, 2010|title=The Scarred Stone: The Strom Thurmond Monument|url=https://southernspaces.org/2010/scarred-stone-strom-thurmond-monument|journal=[[Southern Spaces]]|doi=10.18737/M7P315|doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024 |access-date=August 9, 2021|doi-access=free|archive-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809055137/https://southernspaces.org/2010/scarred-stone-strom-thurmond-monument|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Woods|first=Randall Bennett|url=https://archive.org/details/lbj00rand/page/303|title=LBJ: Architect of American Ambition|publisher=Free Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0684834580|location=[[New York (state)|New York]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/lbj00rand/page/303 303]|lccn=2006041259|ol=7721570M|access-date=August 9, 2021|url-access=registration}}</ref> In early 1956, Thurmond  resigned from the Senate, keeping the promise he had made two years earlier.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 4, 1956|title=Thurmond Resigns His Senate Seat to Keep Promise He Made|work=[[Springfield News-Leader|The Springfield News-Leader]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83088971/thurmond-resigns-his-senate-seat-to/|access-date=August 9, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He won the primary as well as the general election unopposed. Thereafter, he returned to the Senate in November 1956.

In 1957, the Eisenhower administration introduced an amended version of the Civil Rights Bill, imposing expansion of federal supervision of integration in Southern states.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newton|first=Jim|url=https://archive.org/details/eisenhowerwhiteh00newt/page/242|title=Eisenhower: The White House Years|publisher=Doubleday|year=2011|isbn=978-0385523530|page=[https://archive.org/details/eisenhowerwhiteh00newt/page/242 242]|lccn=2011010759|ol=25045949M|access-date=August 9, 2021|url-access=registration}}</ref> In an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the bill{{'s}} passage,<ref>{{cite news|date=August 31, 1957|title=Thurmond's Filibuster Angers Dixie Senators|work=[[The Herald Journal]]|publisher=|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19570831&id=PWssAAAAIBAJ&pg=3968,4300592|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref> Thurmond [[Filibuster in the United States Senate|filibustered]] the bill, [[Strom Thurmond filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957|speaking for a total of 24 hours and 18 minutes]], in what was then the longest speech ever given by a single senator. This record was surpassed by Senator Cory Booker who held the floor for 25 hours and four minutes from March 31 to April 1, 2025.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347318/cory-booker-senate-speech | title=Cory Booker breaks a 68-year-old Senate record with a 25-hour speech | work=NPR | last1=Treisman | first1=Rachel }}</ref> Other Southern senators, who had agreed as part of a compromise not to filibuster this bill, were upset with Thurmond because they thought his defiance made them look incompetent to their constituents.<ref>{{cite book |last=Caro |first= Robert |date= 2002|title= [[Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson]]|location= New York|publisher= Knopf|chapter= Chapter 41 Omens|pages=997–998|isbn=0-394-52836-0}}</ref> Despite his efforts, the Congress passed the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]] on August 29.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2007/08/congress-passes-civil-rights-act-aug-29-1957-005470|title=Congress passes Civil Rights Act Aug. 29, 1957|date=August 29, 2007|work=Politico}}</ref> During his filibuster, Thurmond relied on the book ''The Case for the South'', written by W. D. Workman Jr.; Thurmond had known the author for fifteen years. Workman had covered both Thurmond's tenure as South Carolina governor and his presidential campaign, in addition to having served in the military unit which Thurmond had organized in Columbia. He had turned down an offer by Thurmond to serve as his Washington, DC office press secretary.<ref name="shermer"/>

Thurmond sent a copy of ''The Case for the South'' to each of his Senate colleagues and then-vice president [[Richard Nixon]]. The book was described in 2013 by [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola]] history professor and author Elizabeth Shermer as "a compendium of segregationist arguments that hit all the high points of regional apologia".<ref name="shermer">{{cite book|last=Shermer|first=Elizabeth Tandy|title=Barry Goldwater and the Remaking of the American Political Landscape|publisher=[[University of Arizona Press]]|year=2013|isbn=978-0816521098|pages=152–153|lccn=2012029636|ol=25404808M}}</ref>

In January 1959, the Senate held a debate over changing the rules to curb filibusters. Thurmond expressed the view that the Senate should return to the rule prior to 1917, when there were no regulations on the time for debate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Z610oKUqOA4C&dat=19590113&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=Liberals Claim South Won Filibuster Battle|date=January 13, 1959|newspaper=Gadsden Times}}</ref>

=== 1960s ===
In February 1960, Thurmond requested a [[quorum call]] that would produce at least half the membership of the Senate, the call being seen as one of the delay tactics employed by Southerners during the meeting. 51 senators assembled, allowing the Senate to adjourn in spite of Thurmond's calls for another quorum call. Thurmond afterward denied his responsibility in convening the Saturday session, attributing it to Democrat [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. He said that those insistent on passing a civil rights bill should be around during discussions on the matter.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 28, 1960|title=Senator Russell Ties Rights Bakers To Race Riots|work=[[Toledo Blade]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wggwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_gAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6818%2C4468116|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> In the [[1960 United States presidential election]], Thurmond refused to back the Democratic nominee, his Senate colleague [[John F. Kennedy]], due to the latter's support for civil rights. In the [[1960 United States Senate election in South Carolina|1960 South Carolina Senate race]], Thurmond ran unopposed in the general election; no Republican candidate was on the ballot. As of 2022, 1960 remains the last time a Democrat won South Carolina's Class 2 Senate seat.{{Sfn|Bass|Thompson|1998|p=189}} In the presidential election, Thurmond received 14 electoral votes for vice president (as [[Harry F. Byrd|Harry Byrd Sr.]]'s running mate). Though both Byrd and Thurmond had long since moved on from the States Rights' Democratic Party, they were the decided protest ticket of several Southern delegates and [[unpledged elector]]s, who refused to give their support to Kennedy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Middleton|first=Russell|date=1962|title=The Civil Rights Issue And Presidential Voting Among Southern Negroes And Whites|journal=[[Social Forces]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|volume=40|issue=3|pages=209–215|doi=10.2307/2573630|jstor=2573630}}</ref>

Thurmond predicted the [[87th United States Congress|87th Congress]] would begin with a move to remove him from the Senate Democratic Caucus.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 3, 1961|title=Thurmond Invites Fight To Oust Him|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/01/03/archives/thurmond-invites-fight-to-oust-him.html|url-access=limited|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> This did not happen, and an aide for Senator [[Joseph S. Clark Jr.]] said there was never an intention to pursue recourse against Thurmond, though in his opinion Thurmond should no longer be a member of the party.<ref name="Thurmond Not Purge Target">{{cite news|date=January 4, 1961|title=Thurmond Not Purge Target|work=[[The Item]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6gEvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xqkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6411%2C158793|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref>

In August 1961, Thurmond formally requested the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Armed Services Committee]] to vote on whether to vote for "a conspiracy to muzzle military anti-Communist drives." The appearance prompted the cancellation of another public appearance in [[Fort Jackson, South Carolina|Fort Jackson]], as Thurmond favored marking his proposal with his presence, and his request for a $75,000 committee study was slated for consideration.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 31, 1961|title=Military Gag Probe Asked|work=[[Daily Herald (Utah)|Daily Herald]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83660013/military-gag-probe-asked/|access-date=August 18, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In November, Thurmond said that President Kennedy had lost support in the South due to the formation of the National Relations Boards, what he called Kennedy's softness on communism, and an increase in military men being muzzled for speaking out against communism.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 28, 1961|title=Thurmond Defends Military Leaders|work=[[Madera Tribune]]|publisher=|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MT19611130.2.42|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref>

In May 1962, Thurmond was part of a group of Senate orators headed by [[John C. Stennis]] who expressed opposition to the Kennedy administration's literacy test bill, arguing that the measure was in violation of states' rights as defined by the Constitution. The bill was an effort to reduce the use of discriminatory and subjective [[literacy tests]] in the South; ostensibly used to establish voters' competency, in practice they were used against African-American voters and preventing their registration.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 1, 1962|title=Justice Dept. Move Sparks New Debate|newspaper=[[Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina)|Times-News]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19620501&id=EPMZAAAAIBAJ&pg=5477,6510|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> After the Supreme Court ruled [[Engel v. Vitale|state composed prayer in public schools]] was unconstitutional, Thurmond urged Congress to take steps to prevent the Court from making similar decisions.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 26, 1962|title=Thurmond Blasts Court's Decision|work=[[Madera Tribune]]|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19620726&dliv=userclipping&cliparea=1.2%2C4168%2C2460%2C649%2C1353&factor=4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-strom+thurmond-------1|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> In September 1962, Thurmond called for an invasion of Cuba.<ref>{{cite news|last=Marlow|first=James|date=September 5, 1962|title=Cuba, Soviet Warned|work=[[Springfield News-Leader]]|publisher=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/299255121/|access-date=August 13, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In February 1963, Thurmond stated that "the brush curtain around Cuba is a formidable Soviet strategic military base" and estimated between 30,000 and 40,000 Cuban troops were under the leadership of a Soviet general. Hours after the statement was made public, a Pentagon official disputed his claims as being "at wide variance with carefully evaluated data collected by U.S. intelligence" and called for Thurmond to release his proof to the Defense Department.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 2, 1963|title=Soviet Has Around 40,000 Military Personnel In Cuba|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=A7-hzOuI2KQC&dat=19630202&printsec=frontpage&hl=en}}</ref> During [[Paul Nitze]]'s nomination hearing for [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]], Thurmond was noted for asking "rapid fire questions" on military action and focusing on Nitze's participation as a moderator in the 1958 National Council of Churches conference.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 7, 1963|title=Thurmond Fires Queries Senate Group Grills Nitze, Navy Secretary Nominee|work=[[The San Bernardino Sun]]|publisher=|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SBS19631108.1.3|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> Along with Arizona Senator [[Barry Goldwater]], Thurmond delayed the Nitze nomination.<ref>{{cite news|last=Raymond|first=Jack|date=November 16, 1963|title=Senators Delay Approving Nitze {{endash}} Questions Are Raised About Parley and Land Sale Asked About Views|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/11/16/archives/senators-delay-approving-nitze-questions-are-raised-about-parley.html|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref> In spite of Thurmond voting against him, the nomination was approved.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 22, 1963|title=Senate Group Backs Nitze As Navy Head|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83357006/senate-group-backs-nitze-as-navy-head/|access-date=August 13, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

The day after the Nitze vote, President Kennedy was [[assassination of President Kennedy|assassinated]] in [[Dallas, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=November 22, 1963 {{endash}} Death of the President|url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/november-22-1963-death-of-the-president|access-date=August 23, 2021|website=[[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum]]}}</ref> Thurmond expressed the view that a conspiracy would be found by investigators to have been responsible for JFK's death.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 14, 1967|title=Thurmond Says a Red Plot Led to Death of Kennedy|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/14/archives/thurmond-says-a-red-plot-led-to-death-of-kennedy.html|access-date=August 23, 2021}}</ref> Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] [[First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson|ascended to the presidency]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 23, 2021|title=Johnson Takes Over Presidency; Nation, World Mourn Kennedy|work=[[Carroll Daily Times Herald]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83977834/johnson-takes-over-presidency-nation/|access-date=August 23, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He began campaigning to secure passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], which angered white segregationists. These laws ended segregation and committed the federal government to enforce voting rights of citizens by the supervision of elections in states in which the pattern of voting showed black people had been disenfranchised. During the signing ceremony for the Civil Rights Act, President Johnson nominated [[LeRoy Collins]] as the first Director of the Community Relations Service.<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=Lyndon B.|author-link=Lyndon B. Johnson|date=July 2, 1964|title=446 – Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26361|access-date=August 23, 2021|website=The American Presidency Project|quote=First, I will send to the Senate my nomination of LeRoy Collins to be Director of the Community Relations Service. Governor Collins will bring the experience of a long career of distinguished public service to the task of helping communities solve problems of human relations through reason and commonsense.}}</ref> Subsequently, Thurmond reminded Collins of his past support for segregation and implied that he was a traitor to the South, Thurmond having particular disdain for an address by Collins the previous winter in which he charged Southern leaders with being harsh and intemperate.<ref name="Cohodas353">{{cite book|last=Cohodas|first=Nadine|title=Strom Thurmond & the Politics of Southern Change|publisher=Mercer University Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0865544468|page=353}}</ref> Thurmond also suggested that Collins had sought to fault southern leaders for President Kennedy's assassination.{{Sfn|Cohodas|1993|p=353}} Thurmond was the only senator to vote against Collins' nomination being sent to the Senate, and later one of eight senators to vote against his nomination in the chamber.{{Sfn|Cohodas|1993|p=355}}

==== Party switch ====
On September 16, 1964, Thurmond confirmed he was leaving the Democratic Party to work on the [[Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign|presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater]], charging the Democrats with having "abandoned the people" and having repudiated the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite news|date=September 17, 1964|title=Thurmond Break Is Made Official {{endash}} He Will Work as Republican for Goldwater Election|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/17/archives/thurmond-break-is-made-official-he-will-work-as-republican-for.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=August 23, 2021}}</ref> During the campaign, Thurmond told reporters that he believed [[Barry Goldwater]] could carry South Carolina and other southern states.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 18, 1964|title=Thurmond Joins Goldwater Drive|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/18/thurmond-joins-goldwater-drive.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=August 23, 2021}}</ref> Though Goldwater lost in a [[Landslide victory|landslide]], he won South Carolina with 59% of the vote compared to President Johnson's 41%.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sabato|first=Larry J.|date=October 27, 2014|title=How Goldwater Changed Campaigns Forever|work=[[Politico|Politico (magazine)]]|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/barry-goldwater-lasting-legacy-112210/|access-date=August 23, 2021}}</ref> Senate Republicans were lukewarm to Thurmond due to their "super minority" of only 32 seats in the Senate prior to Thurmond's switch,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/682280/generalelection_USSenator.pdf |title=United States Senator: 1914–2014 |website=Vermont State Archives and Records Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053355/https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/682280/generalelection_USSenator.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=February 10, 2021 }}</ref> and voted for committee assignments granting Thurmond the ability "to keep at least some of the seniority power he had gained as a Democrat."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/01/16/archives/gop-senators-approve-assignments-to-thurmond.html|title=G.O.P. Senators Approve Assignments to Thurmond|date=January 16, 1965|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Following the election, Johnson continued to push through Civil Rights legislation, most notably the [[Voting Rights Act]] in 1965, which committed the federal government to enforce voting rights of citizens by the supervision of elections in states with noted record of voter suppression and disenfranchisement.<ref>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work in the public domain: "Introduction to Federal Voting Rights Laws: The Effect of the Voting Rights Act". www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro_c.php.  U.S. Department of Justice. June 19, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2021.</ref> Thurmond explained his opposition to the Voting Rights Act as being opposed to its authorization of the federal government to determine the processes behind how statewide elections are conducted and insisted he was not against black voter turnout.<ref>Cohodas, p. 13.</ref> During floor debate on the bill, Thurmond espoused that the VRA would lead to "despotism and tyranny."<ref>May, Gary (April 9, 2013). Bending Toward Justice: The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy (Kindle ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books. {{ISBN|978-0-465-01846-8}}.</ref> With the Voting Rights Act passing into law by a slightly larger margin than the Civil Rights Act, Thurmond's opposition to civil rights had proven as ineffective as a Republican as it had been as a Democrat.<ref>"Senate Vote #78 in 1965: To Pass S. 1564, the Voting Rights Act of 1965". govtrack.us. Civic Impulse, LLC. www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/s78. Retrieved February 10, 2021.</ref>

In 1965, [[L. Mendel Rivers]] became chairman of the [[House Armed Services Committee]], commentator Wayne King crediting Thurmond's involvement with Rivers as giving Rivers' district "an even dozen military installations that are said to account for one‐third to one‐half of the jobs in the area."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/09/archives/federal-funds-pour-into-sunbelt-states.html|title=Federal Funds Pour Into Sunbelt States|date=February 9, 1976|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In his [[1966 United States Senate election in South Carolina|1966 re-election campaign]], the new Republican senator faced no opposition in the primary,<ref>{{cite news|date=June 12, 1966|title=Major Democrats Go To Line In Primaries|newspaper=The Santa Fe New Mexican}}</ref> and competed against Bradley Morrah Jr. in the general election campaign.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 19, 1992|title=P. Bradley Morrah Jr.|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/02/19/p-bradley-morrah-jr/}}</ref> Morrah avoided direct charges against Thurmond's record and generally spoke of his own ambitions in the event he was elected,<ref>{{cite news|date=May 7, 1966|title=Democratic Hopefuls Seek U.S. Senate Votes|newspaper=The Greenville News}}</ref> later referring to Thurmond's time in the Senate as being ineffective.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 8, 1966|title=S. C. Voters Face Extra-Long Ballot In Today's Election|publisher=Aiken Standard and Review}}</ref> Thurmond won election with 62.2 percent of the vote (271,297 votes) to Morrah's 37.8 percent (164,955 votes). In 1966, former governor [[Ernest Hollings|Ernest "Fritz" Hollings]] won South Carolina's other Senate seat in a special election. He and Thurmond served together for just over 36 years, making them the longest-serving Senate duo in American history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/06/710570942/former-sen-fritz-hollings-97-has-died|title=Former Sen. 'Fritz' Hollings, 97, Has Died|date=April 6, 2019|publisher=NPR}}</ref>

At the start of the [[89th United States Congress]], Thurmond was appointed to the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Constitutional Rights.<ref>{{cite news|date=January 18, 1967|title=Thurmond Replaces Javits On a Rights Subcommittee|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/18/archives/thurmond-replaces-javits-on-a-rights-subcommittee.html}}</ref> In March, Thurmond won unanimous approval to have Clark's remarks removed from the record following an argument the senators had after Clark mentioned that [[Charleston, South Carolina]] would be included in the Pentagon's list of twenty-five American cities that would get priority in their antimissile protection and attributed this to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rivers' influence.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 22, 1967|title=Senate Endorses Defenses, Then Argues About Locale|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19670322&id=gcxTAAAAIBAJ&pg=5578,2338235}}</ref> In June 1967, Johnson nominated [[Thurgood Marshall]] to be the first African-American Justice on the Supreme Court,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thinktank/Supreme-Court-nomination-that-changed-the-nation.html|title=Supreme Court nomination that changed the nation|date=September 28, 2015|first=Wil|last=Haygood|access-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614094350/http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/thinktank/Supreme-Court-nomination-that-changed-the-nation.html|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thurmond joined [[Sam Ervin]], [[Spessard Holland]], and [[James Eastland]] in calling Marshall a "Constitutional iconoclast" in Senate debate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/marshall-confirmed-supreme-court-justice-1967-article-1.2340894|title=Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as Supreme Court Justice in 1967|date=August 29, 2015|newspaper=The New York Daily News}}</ref> Thurmond questioned Marshall for an hour "on fine points of constitutional law and history",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/07/20/archives/marshall-is-questioned-on-fine-points-of-the-law-thurmond-presses.html|title=Marshall Is Questioned on Fine Points of the Law; Thurmond Presses Nominee to Court With More Than 60 Complicated Queries|date=July 20, 1967|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and accused Marshall of having evaded questions on his legal principles during committee hearings.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Hearing Strom Raps Marshall For Ducking Issue|date=August 11, 1967|newspaper=The Greenville News}}</ref> Marshall was still confirmed by the Senate at the end of that month.<ref>Graham, Fred P. (August 31, 1967), [https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/31/archives/senate-confirms-marshall-as-the-first-negro-justice-10-southerners.html "Senate Confirms Marshall As the First Negro Justice; 10 Southerners Oppose High Court Nominee in 69-to-11 Vote"], ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> Later that year, Thurmond attributed the [[1967 USS Forrestal fire|1967 USS ''Forrestal'' fire]] to being precipitated by communists,<ref>{{cite news|date=July 31, 1967|title=Thurmond Charges Red-Inspired|publisher=Panama City News-Herald}}</ref> and warned against enacting any of the three proposed [[Panama Canal]] treaties on the grounds that they would lead to Communist control of the waterway if enacted.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 3, 1967|title=Thurmond Warns of Peril To Panama Canal in Pacts|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/09/03/archives/thurmond-warns-of-peril-to-panama-canal-in-pacts.html}}</ref>

In 1968, Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] decided to retire, and Johnson subsequently nominated [[Abe Fortas]] to succeed him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-cynicism-on-the-supreme-court-reaches-a-new-low|title=GOP Cynicism on the Supreme Court Reaches a New Low|first=Jay|last=Michaelson|date=February 15, 2016|newspaper=The Daily Beast}}</ref> On the third day of hearings, Thurmond questioned Fortas over ''[[McNabb-Mallory rule|Mallory v. United States]]'' (1957), a case taking place before Fortas's tenure, but for which he was nonetheless held responsible by Thurmond.<ref name=Kalman340>{{cite book|title=Abe Fortas: A Biography|first=Laura|last=Kalman|pages=340–341|year=1992|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300052589}}</ref> Thurmond asked Fortas if the Supreme Court decision in the ''Mallory v. United States'' case was an encouragement of individuals to commit serious crimes such as rape and if he believed in "that kind of justice", an inquiry that shocked even the usually stoic Fortas.<ref name=Kalman340 /> Thurmond displayed sex magazines, which he called "obscene, foul, putrid, filthy and repulsive", to validate his charges that Supreme Court rulings overturning obscenity convictions had led to a large wave of hardcore pornography material. Thurmond stated that Fortas had backed overturning 23 of the 26 lower court obscenity decisions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Senate Committee Asks Fortas to Testify Again: Thurmond Brandishes Nude Magazines, Assails Justice for Rulings on Obscenity|date=July 24, 1968|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Thurmond also arranged for the screening of explicit films that Fortas had purportedly legalized to be played before reporters and his own Senate colleagues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-03-oe-greenberg3-story.html|title=The Republicans' Filibuster Lie|date=May 3, 2005|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In September, Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]] spoke of a deal made between Thurmond and Nixon over Thurmond's opposition to the Fortas nomination.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/14/archives/humphrey-scores-the-same-nixon-sees-a-deal-with-thurmond-on-fortas.html|title=Humphrey Scores 'the Same Nixon'; Sees a Deal With Thurmond on Fortas -- Also Chides Opponent on Atom Pact Humphrey Criticizes 'The Same Nixon' |date=September 14, 1968|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Both Nixon<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/14/archives/nixon-rejects-charge.html|title=Nixon Rejects Charge|date=September 14, 1968|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and Thurmond denied Humphrey's claims, Thurmond saying that he had never discussed the nomination with Nixon while conceding the latter had unsuccessfully tried to sway him from opposing Fortas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/14/archives/thurmond-denies-deal.html|title=Thurmond Promotes Nixon's Cause Deep in Wallace Country|date=September 14, 1968|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In the lead-up to the [[1968 United States Presidential election]], Thurmond stated that President Johnson could be defeated in a re-election bid by a Republican challenger since the candidate was likely to be less obnoxious than the president.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sen. Thurmond Sees Defeat Of Johnson|date=October 24, 1966|publisher=Aiken Standard And Review}}</ref> Thurmond was an early supporter of a second presidential campaign by Nixon, his backing coming from the latter's position on the Vietnam War,<ref>Black, p. 474.</ref> Thurmond promising Nixon that he would not give in to the "depredations of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] forces."<ref>{{cite book|title=Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full|first=Conrad|last=Black|isbn=978-1586485191|year=2007|publisher=PublicAffairs|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781586485191/page/526 526]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781586485191/page/526}}</ref> During the general election campaign, Nixon's running mate [[Spiro Agnew]] stated that he did not believe Thurmond was a racist when asked his opinion on the matter,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19680921&id=LZwgAAAAIBAJ&pg=2769,2154085|title=Agnew's Worries Are Over|first=Clayton|last=Fritchey|publisher=Lewiston Evening Journal|date=September 21, 1968}}</ref> and Thurmond participated in a two-day tour of Georgia during October where he warned that [[American Independent Party]] candidate [[George Wallace]] would split the vote and give the election to Democratic nominee [[Hubert Humphrey]] by having the Democratic-majority House of Representatives select him in the event none of the candidates received enough electoral votes to win the presidency outright. Thurmond also predicted that Nixon would carry Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Tennessee.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/60323366/|title=Thurmond Woos Wallace Voters|publisher=The Bridgepost Post|date=October 24, 1968}}</ref> Nixon carried each of these states with the exception of Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&fips=48&year=1968|title=1968 Presidential General Election Results – Texas|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref>

Thurmond decried the Supreme Court opinion in ''[[Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education]]'' (1969), which ordered the immediate desegregation of schools in the American South.<ref name="Woodward, Bob 1979 Page 56">Woodward, Bob; Scott Armstrong (September 1979). ''The Brethren'', Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|0-671-24110-9}}. Page 56.</ref> This had followed continued Southern resistance for more than a decade to desegregation following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Thurmond praised President Nixon and his "Southern Strategy" of delaying desegregation, saying Nixon "stood with the South in this case".<ref name="Woodward, Bob 1979 Page 56"/> In 1969, Thurmond opined that ''[[The New York Times]]'' "had a conflict of interest in its attacks on Otto F. Otepka's appointment to the Subversive Activities Control Board."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/26/archives/thurmond-scores-times-on-otepka-charges-newspaper-has-a-conflict-of.html|title=Thurmond Scores Times on Otepka; Charges Newspaper Has a Conflict of Interest|date=April 25, 1969|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and called for Associate Justice [[William O. Douglas]] to resign over what he considered political activities,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/30/archives/thurmond-urges-douglas-to-quit-in-newsletter-he-denounces-political.html|title=Thurmond Urges Douglas to Quit; In Newsletter, He Denounces 'Political Activity' |date=May 30, 1969|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> a request which Douglas ignored.<ref>{{cite web |title=Members of the Supreme Court of the United States |publisher=[[Supreme Court of the United States]] |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members.aspx |access-date=April 21, 2010 |archive-date=April 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429170327/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the latter part of the year, President Nixon nominated [[Clement Haynsworth]] for associate justice.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/08/22/archives/nixon-submits-nomination-of-haynsworth-to-senate.html|title=Nixon Submits Nomination Of Haynsworth to Senate|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 22, 1969 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/18/archives/haynsworth-gains-votes-of-2-more.html|title=Haynsworth Gains Votes Of 2 More|date=November 18, 1969|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> This came after the White House consulted with Thurmond throughout all of July, as Thurmond had become impressed with Haynsworth following their close collaboration. Thurmond wrote to Haynsworth that he had worked harder on his nomination than any other that had occurred since his Senate career began.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Southern Strategy|year=2001|first=Bruce H.|last=Kalk|page=94|isbn=978-0739102428|publisher=Lexington Books}}</ref> The Haynsworth nomination was rejected in the Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2355|title=472 – Remarks on the Decision of Judge Clement F. Haynsworth Jr., To Continue as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit|date=December 4, 1969|first=Richard|last=Nixon|author-link=Richard Nixon}}</ref> Years later, at a 1977 hearing, Thurmond told Haynsworth, "It's a pity you are not on the Supreme Court today. Several senators who voted against you have told me they would vote for you if they had it to do again."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1977/03/15/senate-views-on-haynsworth-changed/7ef35b47-dd26-4402-badc-8b55908f8e92/|title=Senate Views on Haynsworth Changed|date=March 15, 1977|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

In 1969, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' ran a story accusing Thurmond of receiving "an extraordinarily high payment for land". Thurmond responded to the claim by calling the tale a liberal smear intended to damage his political influence,<ref>{{cite news|date=September 16, 1969|title=Thurmond Scores an Article in Life; Terms Contention on Land Deal a 'Liberal Smear'|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/16/archives/thurmond-scores-an-article-in-life-terms-contention-on-land-deal-a.html}}</ref> later calling the magazine "anti-South".<ref>{{cite news|date=September 20, 1969|title=Thurmond Rebuts the Life Article; Says Magazine Is Trying to 'Destroy' Him Politically|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/20/archives/thurmond-rebuts-the-life-article-says-magazine-is-trying-to-destroy.html}}</ref> and a few days later, Thurmond named executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party [[Donald L. Fowler]] as the individual who had spread the story, a charge that Fowler denied.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 22, 1969|title=Thurmond Says Fowler Aided Magazine Team; Latter Denies It|publisher=Aiken Standard|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/aiken-standard-and-review-sep-22-1969-p-1/}}</ref>

=== 1970s ===
In 1970, African-Americans constituted about 30 percent of South Carolina's population.<ref name="PopRace">Gibson, Campbell; Jung, Kay (September 2002). [https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html "Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224151538/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |date=December 24, 2014 }}. U.S. Bureau of the Census&nbsp;– Population Division.</ref> After the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], African Americans were legally protected in exercising their constitutional rights to register and vote in South Carolina. Thurmond appointed Thomas Moss, an African American, to his Senate staff in 1971. It has been described as the first such appointment by a member of the South Carolina congressional delegation (it was incorrectly reported by many sources as the first senatorial appointment of an African American, but Mississippi Senator [[Pat Harrison]] had hired clerk-librarian Jesse Nichols in 1937). In 1983, Thurmond supported legislation to make the birthday of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] a [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day|federal holiday]].<ref name="Noah" /> In South Carolina, the honor was diluted; until 2000 the state offered employees the option to celebrate this holiday or substitute one of three Confederate holidays instead. Despite this, Thurmond never explicitly renounced his earlier views on racial segregation.<ref name="CO_071298">{{cite news
  |last=Stroud
  |first=Joseph
  |title=Dixiecrat Legacy: An end, a beginning
  |work=[[The Charlotte Observer]]
  |page=1Y
  |date=July 12, 1998
|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2075662
  |access-date=September 17, 2007}}</ref><ref name="SLATE_121802">{{cite news|title=What About Byrd?|work=Slate|date=December 18, 2002|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2075662|access-date=September 17, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Evolution">{{cite news
  |title=Strom Thurmond's Evolution.
  |work=[[The Ledger]]
  |location=[[Lakeland, FL]]
  |page=6A
  |date=November 23, 1977
  |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=19771123&id=KL8SAAAAIBAJ&pg=2976,6847917
  |access-date=November 29, 2011
  }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Jesse R. Nichols|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Nichols_preface.pdf|access-date=April 22, 2010}}</ref>

In January 1970, Thurmond asserted that he would work "to reverse the unreasonable and impractical decisions of the Supreme Court", as well as assist with the appointment of "sound judges" and uphold the Nixon administration's position for resumption of tax‐exempt status among all private schools.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/16/archives/southern-white-leaders-voice-anger-and-dismay-over-integration.html|title=Southern White Leaders Voice Anger and Dismay Over Integration Ruling|first=Murray|last=Illson|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 16, 1970}}</ref> In a 1970 speech, Thurmond called on [[Japan]] to increase defense spending and take a larger role in resisting communism in Asia. Thurmond also defended the Vietnam policy of the Nixon administration, saying that the president was making the best of the situation that he had inherited from Kennedy and Johnson while admitting he personally favored a total victory in the war.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/21/archives/thurmond-urges-japan-to-step-up-defense-effort-senator-speaking-in.html|title=Thurmond Urges Japan to Step Up Defense Effort|date=September 21, 1970|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> On April 11, 1971, Thurmond called for the exoneration of [[William Calley]] following his conviction of participating in the [[My Lai massacre]], stating that the "victims at Mylai were casualties to the brutality of war" and Calley had acted off of order.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/12/archives/calley-exoneration-urged-by-thurmond.html|title=Calley Exoneration Urged by Thurmond|date=April 12, 1971|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Calley's petition for habeas corpus was granted three years later, in addition to his immediate release from house arrest.<ref>Linder, Douglas. "JURIST&nbsp;– The My Lai Massacre Trial", JURIST&nbsp;– The My Lai Massacre Trial. March 2000.</ref> In January 1975, Thurmond and [[William L. Scott|William Scott]] toured South Vietnam, Thurmond receiving a medal from President of South Vietnam [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]]. The award was seen as part of an attempt by South Vietnam to court American congressional votes in its favor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/04/archives/a-gain-in-battle-is-reported-by-saigon.html|title=A Gain in Battle Is Reported by Saigon|date=January 4, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In February 1971, Senate Republicans voted unanimously to bestow Thurmond full seniority, the vote being seen as "little more than a gesture since committee assignments are the major item settled by seniority and Senator Thurmond has his."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/10/archives/senate-republicans-give-thurmond-full-seniority.html|title=Senate Republicans Give Thurmond Full Seniority|date=February 10, 1971|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In June, Thurmond advocated against lifting the trade embargo on the [[China|People's Republic of China]], stating that its [[Chinese Communist Party|communist regime]] had engaged in a propaganda effort to weaken support for the embargo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Strom, Nixon rift|date=June 14, 1971|publisher=The Delta Democrat-Times}}</ref> Nevertheless, days later, President Nixon ordered an end to the embargo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/flash/june/china71.htm|title=U.S. Ends Ban on China Trade; Items Are Listed|first=Carroll|last=Kilpatrick|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/11/archives/president-ends-21year-embargo-on-peking-trade-authorizes-export-of.html|title=President Ends 21-year Embargo on Peking Trade|first=Robert B. Jr.|last=Semple|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 11, 1971 }}</ref>

On February 4, 1972, Thurmond sent a secret memo to [[William Timmons (lobbyist)|William Timmons]] (in his capacity as an aide to Richard Nixon) and [[United States Attorney General]] [[John N. Mitchell]], with an attached file from the [[Senate Internal Security Subcommittee]], urging that British musician [[John Lennon#Political activism|John Lennon]] (then living in [[New York City]]) be deported from the United States as an [[undesirable alien]], due to Lennon's political views and activism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/08/archives/deportation-of-lennon-barred-by-court-of-appeals.html|title=Deportation of Lennon Barred by Court of Appeals|date=October 8, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The document claimed Lennon's influence on young people could affect Nixon's chances of [[1972 United States presidential election|re-election]], and suggested that terminating Lennon's visa might be "a strategy counter-measure".<ref name="weiner" /> Thurmond's memo and attachment, received by the White House on February 7, 1972, initiated the Nixon administration's persecution of John Lennon that threatened the former [[Beatle]] with deportation for nearly five years from 1972 to 1976. The documents were discovered in the [[FBI]] files after a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] search by Professor [[Jon Wiener]], and published in Weiner's book ''Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files'' (2000).<ref name="weiner">{{cite book |title=Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files |author=Wiener, Jon |year=2000
|isbn=978-0-520-22246-5|publisher=University of California |url=https://archive.org/details/gimmesometruthjo00wien|url-access=registration }}</ref> They are discussed in the [[documentary]] film, ''[[The U.S. vs. John Lennon]]'' (2006).

In July 1973, Thurmond was one of ten Republican senators in a group headed by [[Carl T. Curtis]] invited to the White House to reaffirm their support for President Nixon in light of recent scandals and criticism of the president within his own party.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/12/archives/10-at-white-house-conservative-senators-tell-president-they-still.html|title=10 AT WHITE HOUSE|first=R. W. Jr.|last=Apple|newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 12, 1973}}</ref> In October, after President Nixon ordered the firing of independent special prosecutor [[Archibald Cox]], Democrat [[Birch Bayh]] charged Thurmond with "browbeating" Cox during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the firing. Thurmond replied that Bayh was "below a snake" in the event that he had intended to impugn his motives. Thurmond was noted for joining [[Edward J. Gurney]] in questioning Cox "at length in an attempt to show that he was biased against" Nixon and his administration, as Thurmond asked Cox if eleven members of his staff had worked for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/01/archives/senate-panels-hearings-on-dismissal-of-cox-fall-into-partisan.html|title=Senate Panel's Hearings on Dismissal of Cox Fall Into Partisan Bickering|date=November 1, 1973|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In May 1974, Thurmond, along with [[William L. Scott]] and [[James Allen (U.S. senator)|James B. Allen]] agreed with Senator [[Carl T. Curtis]] on the equation of resignation with mob rule and the group declined defending Nixon's conduct. Thurmond opined that Nixon was "the only President we have" and questioned why Congress would want to weaken his hand in negotiating with other countries.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/14/archives/leading-senators-refuse-to-press-nixon-on-quitting-conservatives-of.html|title=Leading Senators Refuse to Press Nixon on Quitting|date=May 15, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In August, ''[[Newsweek]]'' published a list by the White House including Thurmond as one of thirty-six senators that the administration believed would support President Nixon in the event of his impeachment and being brought to trial by the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/05/archives/36-senators-seen-as-nixon-backers-magazine-says-7-democrats-may.html|title=36 SENATORS SEEN AS NIXON BACKERS|date=August 5, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Nixon resigned on August 9 in light of near-certain impeachment.<ref>{{cite news| newspaper = The Washington Post| title = Nixon Resigns| series = The Watergate Story | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part3.html| access-date = July 16, 2011}}</ref>

Throughout the 1970s, Thurmond took several actions against the [[Soviet Union]]. In June 1974, Senator [[Henry M. Jackson]] informed Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee [[John C. Stennis]] that he had arranged for Thurmond to cosponsor an amendment revising the present export control system and restricting trade with the Soviet Union while granting the Defense Secretary power to veto any export that might "significantly increase the military capability" of either the Soviet Union or other Communist countries.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/08/archives/mansfield-stalls-a-jackson-trade-plan-quiet-day-chosen.html|title=Mansfield Stalls a Jackson Trade Plan|date=June 8, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In June 1975, as the Senate weighed a reduction in a $25 billion weapons procurement measure and to delete research funds to improve the accuracy and power of intercontinental ballistic missiles and warheads, Thurmond and [[Harry F. Byrd Jr.]] warned that the Soviet Union was attempting an increase on its missile accuracy and advocated for the United States to follow suit with its own missiles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/05/archives/senate-rejects-a-12billion-cut-in-arms-budget-it-also-defeats-5242.html|title=Senate Rejects $1.2–81 Won Cut in Arms Budget|date=June 5, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Later that month, Thurmond and [[Jesse Helms]] wrote to President Ford requesting he meet with [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]] ahead of a speech on June 30 during an [[AFL–CIO]] dinner. The White House responded that Ford was too busy to meet with Solzhenitsyn, while later sources indicate Ford declined the meeting at the counsel of his advisors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/07/17/archives/kissinger-sees-perils-in-solzhenitsyns-views-secretary-says-meeting.html|title=Kissinger Sees Perils in Solzhenitsyn's Views|date=July 17, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In December 1979, Thurmond was one of ten senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee to sign a report urging President Carter to delay the vote on a proposed treaty between the US and Soviet Union to limit nuclear arms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/21/archives/senate-panel-votes-antitreaty-report-armed-services-committee-says.html|title=Senate Panel Votes Antitreaty Report|date=December 21, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In the 1976 Republican primary, President Ford faced a challenge from former California Governor Ronald Reagan, who selected [[Richard Schweiker]] as his running mate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/us/richard-s-schweiker-reagan-confidant-dies-at-89.html|title=Richard S. Schweiker, Former Senator and Reagan Confidant, Dies at 89|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 4, 2015}}</ref> Though Thurmond backed Reagan's candidacy, he, along with North Carolina Senator [[Jesse Helms]], led efforts to oust Schweiker from the ticket.<ref>{{cite book|title=Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All|page=[https://archive.org/details/reagansrevolutio0000shir/page/302 302]|first=Craig|last=Shirley|year=2005|isbn=978-0785260493|publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc.|url=https://archive.org/details/reagansrevolutio0000shir/page/302}}</ref> During the subsequent [[1976 United States presidential election|general election]], Thurmond appeared in a campaign commercial for incumbent U.S. President [[Gerald Ford]] in his race against Thurmond's fellow [[Southern United States|Southerner]], former [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] [[governor of Georgia|Governor]] [[Jimmy Carter]]. In the commercial, Thurmond said Ford (who was born in [[Nebraska]] and spent most of his life in [[Michigan]]) "sound[ed] more like a [[Politics of the Southern United States|Southerner]] than [[Jimmy Carter]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1976/strom-thurmond|title=The Living Room Candidate – Commercials – 1976 – Strom Thurmond|website=www.livingroomcandidate.org}}</ref> After President-elect Carter nominated [[Theodore C. Sorensen]] as his choice to become [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency]], Thurmond expressed reservations<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/17/archives/carter-stands-firm-supports-sorensen-as-director-of-cia-calls.html|title=Carter Stands Firm, Supports Sorensen As Director of C.I.A.|date=January 17, 1977|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and fellow Senator [[Jake Garn]] said he believed Thurmond would not vote for the nomination.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/01/16/sorensen-nomination-in-trouble/f87dfb27-eece-4aa5-a4fe-91e45df23c97/|title=Sorensen Nomination In Trouble|date=January 16, 1977|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Sorensen withdrew from consideration days later, before a vote could be had.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/01/18/sorensen-withdraws-as-nominee-for-cia/15e7e124-d5b6-4256-a9ae-7947e8a27952/|title=Sorensen Withdraws As Nominee for CIA|date=January 18, 1977|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/ted-sorensen-jfk-speechwriter-dies|title=Ted Sorensen, JFK's speechwriter and confidant, dies at 82 |date=November 1, 2010|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 1974,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/16/archives/storm-over-the-crnal-the-military-and-economic-importance-of-the.html|title=Storm Over the Canal|first=Richard|last=Hudson|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 16, 1976}}</ref> Thurmond and Democrat [[John L. McClellan]] wrote a resolution to continue American sovereignty by the Panama Canal and zone. Thurmond stated that the rhetoric delivered by Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] suggested that the "Canal Zone is already Panamanian territory and the only question involved is the transfer of jurisdiction."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/30/archives/32-senators-back-resolution-opposing-panama-canal-pact-false.html|title=32 Senators Back Resolution Opposing Panama Canal Pact|date=March 30, 1974|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>  In the late 1970s, Thurmond advocated for forging a new relationship with Panama but against the U.S. giving up sovereignty to the Canal Zone. Thurmond doubted Panama's ability to govern alone: "There is no way that a Panamanian government could be objective about the administration of an enterprise so large in comparison to the rest of the national enterprise, public and private."<ref>{{cite news|title=Keep Sovereignty, Maintains Thurmond|date=August 9, 1977|publisher=Florence Morning News}}</ref> In late August 1977, ''The New York Times'' wrote "President Carter can be grateful that the opposition to his compromise Panama treaty is now being led by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Senator [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/24/archives/carter-panama-and-china.html|title=Carter, Panama And China|first=James|last=Reston|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 24, 1977}}</ref> Speaking on the Panama Canal neutrality treaty, Thurmond said it was "the big giveaway of the century."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/17/archives/new-jersey-pages-senate-6832-approves-first-of-2-panama-pacts.html|title=Senate, 68-32, Approves First of 2 Panama Pacts; Carter Hails 'Courage'|date=March 17, 1978|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/03/17/senate-votes-1st-canal-treaty-68-32/25bd9307-63f9-4cfb-a03c-0d607b638c0f/|title=Senate Votes 1st Canal Treaty, 68-32|first=Haynes|last=Johnson|date=March 17, 1978|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The treaty was ratified by the Senate on March 16, 1978.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/03/17/senate-votes-1st-canal-treaty-68-32/3ef6d749-d62f-4705-a610-0dda73f978f7/|title=Senate Votes 1st Canal Treaty, 68-32|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 17, 1978}}</ref>

In his general election campaign, Thurmond faced Charles Ravenel, a local banker and former gubernatorial candidate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/former-charleston-political-figure-charles-pug-ravenel-passed-away-saturday/article_828625f2-122a-11e7-9d23-3bb1f230ff6f.html|title=Former Charleston political figure Charles 'Pug' Ravenel passed away Saturday |first=Schuyler|last=Kropfc|publisher=postandcourier.com|date=March 26, 2017}}</ref> Ravenel charged Thurmond with not standing up for South Carolina's educational needs and having been behind the lack of funding. Thurmond responded to the charges by stating that he thought the state had made advancements in its education system.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19781017&id=O1YsAAAAIBAJ&pg=6872,4518017|title=Thurmond Defends Education|publisher=Herald=Journal}}</ref> Thurmond and Ravenel made a joint appearance in April, where Thurmond discussed his position on a variety of issues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/07/archives/thurmonds-years-in-the-nation.html|title=Thurmond's Years|date=April 7, 1978|first=Toni|last=Wicker|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The higher amount of African-Americans voting in elections was taken into account by the Ravenel campaign, which sought to gain this group of voters by reviving interest in older statements by Thurmond. In his courting of black voters, Thurmond was noted to have not undergone "any ideological transformation" but instead devoted himself to making personal contact with members of the minority group. Thurmond's influence in national politics allowed him to have correspondence with staffers from the Nixon administration which gave him "a unique advantage in announcing federal grants and bird-dogging federal projects of particular interest to black voters."<ref name="Thurmond's Black Hope">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/03/17/thurmonds-black-hope/49fe22d8-a223-4e9a-aa07-7d8b452fe395/|title=Thurmond's Black Hope|date=March 17, 1978|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> By May 1978, Thurmond held a 30-point lead over Ravenel among double digits of undecided voters.<ref>{{cite news|title=Polls Shows Thurmond Is Landsliding Ravenel|date=May 23, 1978|newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution}}</ref> Thurmond won a sixth term with 351,733 votes to Ravenel's 281,119. The race would later be assessed as the last serious challenge to Thurmond during his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-14-mn-35881-story.html|title=Campaign '96 / THE SENATE : Thurmond Thinking of an Eighth Term; Voters Aren't So Sure : Though popular, the 93-year-old Republican risks handing his seat to a Democrat if he runs again, observers say.|date=February 14, 1996|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

In March 1979, after the Carter administration made an appeal to Congress for new powers to aid with the enforcement of federal laws as it pertains to housing discrimination, Thurmond refused to back the administration as he charged it with "injecting itself in every facet of people's lives" and said housing disputes should be settled in court.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/22/archives/congress-is-asked-for-power-to-fight-housing-bias-an-empty-promise.html|title=Congress Is Asked for Power to Fight Housing Bias|date=March 22, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In July, as the Senate weighed voting on the nomination of Assistant Attorney General [[Patricia M. Wald]] to the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, Thurmond joined [[Paul Laxalt]] and [[Alan Simpson (U.S. politician)|Alan Simpson]] in recording their opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/18/archives/senate-panel-approves-13-judges.html|title=Senate Panel Approves 13 Judges|date=July 18, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Later that month, Thurmond asked Attorney General nominee [[Benjamin R. Civiletti]] if President Carter had made him give a pledge of loyalty or an assurance of complete independence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/26/archives/civiletti-is-praised-at-senate-hearing-nominee-for-attorney-general.html|title=Civiletti Is Praised at Senate Hearing|first=Philip|last=Taubman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 26, 1979}}</ref> In September, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved 30 of President Carter's nominees, the closest vote being waged against Abner J. Mikva, who the president had nominated for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Thurmond was one of the five Republicans to vote against Mikva.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/12/archives/senate-unit-approves-30-nominees-for-judgeships-rights-group.html|title=Senate Unit Approves 30 Nominees for Judgeships|date=September 12, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In November, President Carter nominated [[José A. Cabranes]] to fill a vacancy on the [[United States District Court for the District of Connecticut]]. Thurmond submitted a series of written questions to Cabranes, whose answers were credited with clarifying his views on issues.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/21/archives/a-puerto-rican-for-the-federal-court-jose-alberto-cabranes.html|title=A Puerto Rican for the Federal Court|date=December 12, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Cabranes was confirmed for the position.

Thurmond demonstrated several instances of bipartisanship with Democrats and President Carter. In May 1977, Thurmond made a joint appearance with President Carter in the Rose Garden in a show of unified support for proposed foreign intelligence surveillance legislation. Thurmond stated he had become convinced the legislation was needed from his service on the Armed Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee the previous year and lauded the bill for concurrently protecting the rights of Americans, as a warrant would have to be obtained from a judge in order to fulfill any inquiries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=7526|title=Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Remarks of the President, Attorney General Bell, and Several Members of Congress on Proposed Legislation.|date=May 18, 1977|first=Jimmy|last=Carter|author-link=Jimmy Carter|publisher=American Presidency Project}}</ref> In July 1979, after the Carter administration unveiled a proposed governing charter for the FBI, Thurmond stated his support for its enactment, his backing being seen by ''The New York Times'' as an indication that the governing charter would face little conservative opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/01/archives/carter-administration-unveils-proposed-fbi-charter-plans-to-review.html|title=Carter Administration Unveils Proposed F.B.I. Charter|first=Philip|last=Taubman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 1, 1979}}</ref> In September, the Senate approved [[Bailey Brown]] as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The nomination was one of the few votes in which Thurmond and Ted Kennedy joined forces in confirming.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/26/archives/javits-and-kennedy-clash-in-vote-on-judge-tied-to-allwhite-club.html|title=Javits and Kennedy Clash in Vote On Judge Tied to All-White Club|first=Jo|last=Thomas|newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 26, 1979}}</ref> In October, President Carter signed the Federal Magistrate Act of 1979, an expansion of the jurisdiction of American magistrates in regards to civil and criminal cases. Carter noted Thurmond as one of the members of Congress who had shown leadership on the measure, without whose efforts it would have never passed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=31499|title=Federal Magistrate Act of 1979 Statement on Signing S. 237 Into Law|date=October 10, 1979|publisher=American Presidency Project|first=Jimmy|last=Carter|author-link=Jimmy Carter}}</ref>

=== 1980s ===
In December 1979, Thurmond endorsed the presidential campaign of former [[Governor of Texas]] [[John Connally]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/12/27/sc-ex-gov-edwards-thurmond-back-connally/51b5157c-cd2e-43db-876a-1b223be1bbc9/|title=S.C. Ex-Gov. Edwards, Thurmond Back Connally|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 27, 1979}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/28/archives/thurmond-and-exgov-edwards-turn-to-connally.html|title=Thurmond and Ex-Gov. Edwards Turn to Connally|date=December 28, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In an election cycle that also featured Reagan,<ref>{{cite web|title=Intent to Run for President |date=November 13, 1979 |url=http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/speech.asp?spid=4 |work=Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library |access-date=February 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124210257/http://reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/speech.asp?spid=4 |archive-date=January 24, 2009 }}</ref> Thurmond chose to back Connally because he believed the latter's wide government experience would benefit the U.S. in both domestic and foreign matters.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reagan heavily favored in South Carolina|date=March 9, 1980|newspaper=Clarion-Ledger}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' noted Thurmond seeming "to cast himself for a role of regional leadership in the Connally campaign similar to the one he played in 1968" for the Nixon campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/12/28/connally-criticizes-president-for-inaction-policy-on-iran/f03f6b4f-a223-482f-9cce-f31111109723/|title=Connally Criticizes President For 'Inaction Policy' on Iran|date=December 28, 1979|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> After Connally lost the South Carolina primary to Reagan, he thanked Thurmond and his wife for doing more to support his campaign in the state than anyone else.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/03/09/reagan-crushes-connally-bush-in-sc/f68f2009-19a1-44e2-a4c5-7854187635a3/|title=Reagan Crushes Connally, Bush in S.C.|date=March 9, 1980|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> In August 1980, Thurmond gave a "tense cross examination" of President Carter's brother, [[Billy Carter]], who had come under scrutiny for his relationship with Libya and receiving funds from the country. The Billy Carter controversy also was favored by Democrats wishing to replace Carter as the party's nominee in the general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/08/05/no-impropriety-in-billy-affair-carter-says-no-impropriety-committed-in-billy-affair-president-says/364efcf7-1271-4f8f-bea7-68fb7a2fe549/|title=No 'Impropriety' in Billy Affair, Carter Says, No 'Impropriety' Committed In Billy Affair, President Says|date=August 5, 1980|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Thurmond questioned Carter over his prior refusal to disclose the amount of funds he had received from public appearances after the 1976 Presidential election,<ref>{{cite news|title=Billy Claims $20,000 Not Gift From Libyans|date=August 22, 1980|publisher=Altoona Mirror}}</ref> and stated his skepticism with some of the points made.<ref>{{cite news|title= Billy: $20,000 was not Libyan gift|date=August 22, 1980|publisher=Ukiah Daily Journal}}</ref>

After Republicans won a majority in the [[United States Senate election, 1980|1980 Senate election]],<ref name="Democrats aim to regain">{{cite news |first=Nicolas |last=Ashford |title=Democrats aim to regain lost ground |work=[[The Times]] |page=10 |date=February 10, 1984 }}</ref> Thurmond pledged that he would seek a death penalty law,<ref>{{cite news|title=Thurmond returning to power as 'friend' of minority groups|date=November 7, 1980|publisher=Florida Today}}</ref> and stated his conviction that "the death penalty is a deterrent to crime" in an interview the following year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1981/04/26/the-four-men-strom-thurmond-sent-to-the-chair/61a15184-fd6a-40df-a6a8-932358d29ef5/|title=The Four Men Strom Thurmond Sent to the Chair|first=David I.|last=Bruck|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Following the presidential election, Thurmond and North Carolina senator [[Jesse Helms]] sponsored a Senate amendment to a [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] appropriations bill denying the department the power to participate in [[Desegregation busing in the United States|busing]], due to objections over federal involvement, but, although passed by Congress, was vetoed by a [[Lame duck (politics)|lame duck]] Carter.<ref>{{cite news |first=B. Drummond Jr. |last=Ayres |title=Civil Rights Groups Fear a Slowdown In Busing for Desegregation of Schools |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 21, 1980 |page=28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Wicker |author-link=Tom Wicker |title=Why Not The Best? |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 16, 1980 |page=E21 }}</ref> In December 1980, Thurmond met with President-elect Reagan and recommended former South Carolina governor [[James B. Edwards]] for [[United States Secretary of Energy]] in the incoming administration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/12/16/Sen-Strom-Thurmond-R-SC-said-Tuesday-that-former-South/1735345790800/|title=Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., said Tuesday that former South...|date=December 16, 1980|publisher=UPI}}</ref> Reagan later named Edwards Energy Secretary, and the latter served in that position for over a year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/us/politics/james-b-edwards-a-long-shot-as-governor-of-south-carolina-dies-at-87.html|title=James B. Edwards, a Long-Shot as Governor of South Carolina, Dies at 87|first=Bruce|last=Weber|newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 27, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thestate.com/2014/12/26/3894147/former-gov-james-edwards-dies.html | title=Former Gov. James Edwards dies | work=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]] | date=December 26, 2014 | access-date=December 26, 2014 | author=Click, Carolyn | archive-date=December 29, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229011716/http://www.thestate.com/2014/12/26/3894147/former-gov-james-edwards-dies.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 1981, after the Justice Department revealed it was carrying out a suit against [[Charleston County]] for school officials declining to propose a desegregation method for its public schools, Thurmond theorized the Justice Department's decision may have been due to South Carolina not supporting President Carter in the general election,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/09/us/us-to-sue-a-school-district-in-carolina-over-racial-bias.html|title=U.S. TO SUE A SCHOOL DISTRICT IN CAROLINA OVER RACIAL BIAS|date=January 9, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and stated his intent to have the incoming Reagan administration to look into the facts of the case before proceeding.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/11/us/around-the-nation-thurmond-to-ask-review-on-school-segregation-suit.html|title=Around the Nation; Thurmond to Ask Review On School Segregation Suit|date=January 11, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

[[File:Margaret Thatcher Strom Thurmond 1981.jpg|thumb|right|[[Margaret Thatcher]] and Thurmond at a state dinner in 1981]]
Thurmond became [[president pro tempore of the United States Senate]] in 1981, and was part of the U.S. delegation to the funeral of Egyptian President [[Anwar Sadat]], Thurmond being accompanied by Sadat's pen pal Sam Brown.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/08/President-Reagan-invited-three-former-presidents-to-the-White/1243371361600/|title=President Reagan invited three former presidents to the White...|date=October 8, 1981|publisher=UPI}}</ref> At the beginning of Reagan's term, Thurmond as the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the new president were seen as obstacles to any gun laws passing in the Senate. Thurmond publicly stated his belief that any measures introduced would be defeated in his committee.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sen. Thurmond predicts gun control bill's defeat|date=February 1, 1981|newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal}}</ref> After the March assassination attempt on President Reagan,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/30/lkl.00.html|title=Remembering the Assassination Attempt on Ronald Reagan|date=March 30, 2001|access-date=December 19, 2007|work=CNN|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219043617/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/30/lkl.00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WIFIAAAAIBAJ&pg=5701%2C5352489 | title=Reagan is shot | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | agency=Associated Press | date=March 31, 1981 | access-date=April 23, 2011 | author=Hunt, Terence | location=Washington DC | page=1}}</ref> Thurmond stated his support for legislation imposing a ban on the gun components on a seven-point anti-crime program.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/01/us/a-ban-on-gun-parts-is-urged-in-congress.html|title=A Ban on Gun Parts Is Urged in Congress|date=April 1, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> He indicated his backing would only be in favor of passing measures to restrict criminals accessing guns<ref>{{cite journal|title=Administration unlikely to drop opposition to handgun|journal=Stevens Point Journal|date=April 1, 1981}}</ref> and his announcement was seen as possibly indicating a change in the debate of regulations relating to firearms in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/02/us/kennedy-set-to-compromise-to-obtain-gun-control-bill.html|title=Kennedy Set to Compromise to Obtain Gun Control Bill|date=April 2, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond also announced plans to hold hearings on the seven-point proposal intended to address the questions surrounding the Reagan assassination attempt.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/01/Senate-Judiciary-Committee-chairman-Strom-Thurmond-R-SC-said-Tuesday/4627354949200/|title=Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., said Tuesday...|date=April 1, 1981|publisher=UPI}}</ref>

Thurmond and Helms urged President Reagan to curb textile imports, with Thurmond saying later that year that the first four months of 1981 had seen a 16 percent increase in textile imports "over a similar period in 1980."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/06/04/Republican-Sens-Jesse-Helms-of-North-Carolina-and-Strom/7618360475200/ph|title=Republican Sens. Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Strom...|date=June 4, 1981|publisher=UPI}}</ref> President Reagan pledged in a letter to Thurmond to help South Carolina textile mills against their foreign competitors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1984/04/01/reagan-is-the-real-king-of-special-interest-groups/5d0958ba-3df6-49a7-8988-3b7b0861f91d/|title=Reagan is the Real King Of Special Interest Groups|date=April 1, 1984|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> President Reagan stated his support for tightening control of textile imports,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/17/business/reagan-decides-to-tighten-controls-on-textile-imports.html|title=Reagan Decides to Tighten Controls on Textile Imports|date=December 17, 1983|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and the following year, vetoed H.R. 1562.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1985/121785d.htm|title=Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the Textile and Apparel Industries Bill|date=December 17, 1985|first=Ronald|last=Reagan|author-link=Ronald Reagan|publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum|access-date=April 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410072456/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1985/121785d.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thurmond responded to the decision by stating that Reagan had heeded bad advice and added that the veto would produce "more layoffs, more plant shutdowns and more long-term economic damage to an industry that is crucial to this nation."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/12/18/President-Reagan-in-a-blow-to-the-import-battered-textile/6904503730000/|title=President Reagan, in a blow to the import-battered textile,...|date=December 18, 1985|publisher=UPI}}</ref> In late 1981, Thurmond presided over the hearings of [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], who President Reagan had nominated for associate justice.<ref>{{cite web|last1=U.S. National Archives|title=Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|access-date=August 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/|title=News, Photos, Audio &#124; Archives - UPI.com|website=UPI}}</ref> Thurmond granted Alabama Senator [[Jeremiah Denton]] an hour of questioning of O'Connor, twice the time allotted for other members of the chamber.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/12/us/abortion-foes-assail-judge-o-connor.html|title=Abortion Foes Assail Judge O'connor|date=September 12, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond stated that O'Connor was "one of the choice nominees" for the Supreme Court that he had seen in all of his Senate career,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/panel-approves-judge-o-connor.html|title=Panel Approves Judge O'Connor|date=September 16, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and she was confirmed by the Senate.<ref>{{cite web|title = Reagan's Nomination of O'Connor|url = https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/oconnor.html|publisher = archives.gov|access-date = November 7, 2015}}</ref> Also in 1981, Thurmond was one of the leaders in opposition to extending the Voting Rights Act,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/08/us/congress-begins-fight-over-extension-of-voting-rights-act.html|title=Congress Begins Fight Over Extension of Voting Rights Act|date=April 8, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> and said parts of the law were discriminatory toward states' rights as well as too strict toward communities that had adhered to it in the past.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/27/magazine/once-again-a-clash-over-voting-rights.html|title=Once Again, a Clash Over Voting Rights|date=September 27, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

Thurmond was a supporter of the [[Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration|foreign policy of the Reagan administration]]. In April 1981, Thurmond stated that the U.S. could move some of its [[West Germany]] soldiers to the East German and Czechoslovak borders in an attempt to improve both morale and combat readiness.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/19/world/us-may-shift-gi-s-in-germany.html|title=U.S. May Shift G.I.'s in Germany|date=April 19, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In October 1983, Thurmond announced his support for the [[United States invasion of Grenada]], saying American efforts with other countries were "providing an opportunity for Grenadan citizens to regain control over their lives" and the U.S. would be forced to watch centuries of progress crumble if the country was unwilling to make sacrifices.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/29/us/required-reading-sampling-of-opinions-on-invasion-of-grenada.html|title=Required Reading; Sampling of Opinions on Invasion of Grenada|date=October 29, 1983|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond voted against the Senate resolution declaring that American troops in [[Grenada]] would be "withdrawn no more than 60 days later unless Congress authorized their continued presence there".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/29/world/o-neill-criticizes-president-war-powers-act-is-invoked.html|title=O'Neill Criticizes President; War Powers Act Is Invoked|date=October 29, 1983|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> President Reagan sent Thurmond a letter containing a report in line with the [[War Powers Resolution]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/10/25/Reagan-gives-Congress-war-powers-notice/4017435902400/|title=Reagan gives Congress war powers notice|first=Ira A.|last=Allen|publisher=UPI|date=October 25, 1983}}</ref> Thurmond said the "ruling junta in Grenada" was directly threatening American lives.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/10/25/Congress-gave-cautious-support-to-the-invasion-of-Grenada/4533435902400/|title=Congress gave cautious support to the invasion of Grenada...|first=John F.|last=Barton|publisher=UPI|date=October 25, 1983}}</ref>

In December 1984, as the United States and [[Israel]] moved to negotiate a free-trade pact where tariffs between the two countries would eventually be wiped out following the Reagan administration receiving congressional approval to negotiate such an agreement, Thurmond wrote a letter to United States trade representative Bill Brock calling on Brock to "reformulate" the negotiating position of the US as the senator had been informed by his aides that the American position in the negotiation was "more generous" than the one specified to Congress. Brock replied to Thurmond weeks later, asserting that he had "every intention" of fulfilling his commitment to Congress "to take account of the import sensitivity of specific products" in the agreement and that Israel had acknowledged the irregularity of export subsidy programs "with the concept of a free-trade area."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/10/business/israel-and-us-facing-hurdles-on-trade-pact.html|title=Israel and U.S. Facing Hurdles on Trade Pact|date=January 10, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1984, as the Senate voted on a bill granting federal prosecution to weapon-carrying career robbers and giving 15 years of incarceration to those convicted, Thurmond and Democratic Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] sponsored an amendment limiting the bill to third-time federal offenders, which passed 77 to 12.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/24/us/bill-to-permit-federal-prosecution-of-career-criminals-passes-senate.html|title=Bill to Permit Federal Prosecution of Career Criminals Passes Senate|date=February 24, 1984|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In the 1984 presidential election, Thurmond was cited along with [[Carroll Campbell]] and South Carolina Republican Party Director Warren Tompkins by Republicans as the forces binding the Reagan-Bush ticket to South Carolina's electoral votes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Both sides in presidential battle agree turnout is key|date=October 28, 1984|publisher=The Index-Journal}}</ref> Thurmond attended President Reagan's October 15 re-election campaign speech in the Allied Health Building on the Greenville Technical College campus in [[Greenville, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39247|title=Remarks at a Reagan-Bush Rally in Greenville, South Carolina|date=October 15, 1984|first=Ronald|last=Reagan|author-link=Ronald Reagan|quote=And Dr. Thomas Barton, a Clemson Tiger; Mayor Bill Workman, and Senator Strom Thurmond.}}</ref>

Running for a fifth full term in 1984,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/20/us/campaign-notes-thurmond-will-seek6th-full-term-in-senate.html|title=Campaign Notes; Thurmond Will Seek6th Full Term in Senate|date=March 20, 1984|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond faced his first primary challenge in 20 years, from retired CIA agent Robert Cunningham, and won the Republican nomination on June 12, 1984.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/13/us/thurmond-gains-bid-for-6th-term.html|title=Thurmond Gains Bid for 6th Term|date=June 13, 1984|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/13/Strom-Thurmond-wins-nomination-as-five-states-hold-primaries/3062455947200/|title=Strom Thurmond wins nomination as five states hold primaries|date=June 13, 1984|publisher=UPI}}</ref> The previous year, at a fundraising dinner for Thurmond's re-election campaign in [[Columbia, South Carolina]], President Reagan delivered an address both praising Thurmond and noting the similarities in his views and that of the administration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40487|title=Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner for Senator Strom Thurmond in Columbia, South Carolina|date=September 20, 1983|publisher=American Presidency Project}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/09/20/President-Reagan-praised-Sen-Strom-Thurmond-R-SC-Tuesday-as/4567432878400/|title=President Reagan praised Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., Tuesday as...|date=September 20, 1983|publisher=UPI}}</ref> Cunningham charged Thurmond with being a follower who no one could validate the seriousness of as a candidate since he had not been challenged in eighteen years, furthering that the South Carolina Republican Party had been involved with the decline in his opposition. Cunningham said that Thurmond had a "bad track record" and noted his past comments on race, saying that he would not be crushed like Thurmond's past opponents and was getting much encouragement in his bid to unseat him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/17/Ex-CIA-agent-battles-Thurmond/9425054120006/|title=Ex-CIA agent battles Thurmond|first=Sidney|last=Bedingfield|publisher=UPI|date=April 17, 1984}}</ref> Thurmond addressed the issue of age during the primary, the 81-year-old senator stating that he exercised each day for an hour and a half and that he was in the same shape as a person in their 30s or 40s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/12/Strom-Thurmond-wins-nomination-to-sixth-Senate-term/8026455860800/|title=Strom Thurmond wins nomination to sixth Senate term|date=June 12, 1984|publisher=UPI}}</ref> Cunningham received less than 6% of the primary vote. Thurmond then defeated Melvin Purvis III in the general election, the latter receiving half of the votes cast for Thurmond.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-10-21/news/8603030969_1_strom-thurmond-mr-purvis-minister|title=Melvin Purvis Iii, Minister, Candidate|date=October 21, 1986|publisher=Sun Sentinel|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-date=March 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329121142/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-10-21/news/8603030969_1_strom-thurmond-mr-purvis-minister|url-status=dead}}</ref> Purvis, noted to have few differences in ideology with Thurmond, cited the latter's age as reason to retire him from the Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/21/obituaries/melvin-h-purvis-3d.html|title=Melvin H. Purvis 3d|date=October 21, 1986|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

Thurmond's support of Reagan's judicial nominees continued into the president's second term. In 1986, [[Daniel Anthony Manion]], President Reagan's choice for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago, answered a question by Thurmond,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/03/13/nominee-questioned-on-creationist-bill/|title=Nominee Questioned On Creationist Bill|date=March 13, 1986|first=Glen|last=Elsasser|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> who cited Manion as "entitled to have a vote by the Senate",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/06/25/senate-gop-leaders-attempting-to-limit-debate-on-manion/4e6c58d9-f08e-4aed-82e1-fb7358ac213d/|title=Senate GOP Leaders Attempting to Limit Debate on Manion|date=June 25, 1986|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and predicted there were enough votes to confirm him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/06/24/judge-nominees-verdict-near/|title=Judge Nominee's Verdict Near|date=June 24, 1986|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> In 1987, after President Reagan nominated [[Robert Bork]] as Associate Justice on the Supreme Court,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1987/070187d.htm|title=Nomination of Robert H. Bork To Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|date=July 1, 1987|publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404200826/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1987/070187d.htm|archive-date=April 4, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' noted Thurmond as "one of Bork's key supporters on the Judiciary Committee."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-21-mn-6092-story.html|title=Packwood Opposes Bork, 1st Gop Senator to Defect : Willing to Join Senate Filibuster|date=September 21, 1987|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Following Bork's nomination being rejected by the Senate,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/24/us/senate-s-roll-call-on-the-bork-vote.html|title=Senate's Roll-Call On the Bork Vote|date=October 24, 1987 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Thurmond stated that President Reagan's next nominee should be a person not "as controversial" and should be someone from the South.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/24/us/bork-s-nomination-is-rejected-58-42-reagan-saddened.html|title=Bork's Nomination Is Rejected, 58-42; Reagan 'Saddened'|date=October 24, 1987|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In June 1985, Thurmond introduced legislation providing stiffer federal penalties for individuals and financial institutions engaged in laundering money earned from activities of illegality. The bill was supported by the Reagan administration in its efforts to expose the financial activities of criminals and was hailed by Thurmond as "an important step in our continuing war on organized crime and those financial institutions and individuals which hide the ill-gotten assets of law-breakers, especially drug traffickers."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/23/us/money-laundering-bill-seen-as-privacy-threat.html|title=Money-laundering Bill Seen As Privacy Threat|date=June 23, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In September 1985, Thurmond was one of eight members of a delegation that met with [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/04/world/gorbachev-hints-he-ll-be-flexible.html|title=Gorbachev Hints He'll Be Flexible|date=September 4, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In March 1986, after American warplanes took action against Libyan land, Thurmond stated the U.S. "has the right and the duty to protect and defend itself when attacked, as it was today, without provocation." He opposed statements by the Libyan government that the attacks on U.S. ships occurred in international waters and named [[Muammar Gaddafi]] as the individual who had orchestrated the acts of aggression toward the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/25/world/lawmakers-back-actions-on-libya.html|title=Lawmakers Back Actions on Libya|date=March 25, 1986|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond was a supporter of the Nicaragua rebels, saying that support for the group on the part of the United States was central to furthering America's view "in freedom and in protecting ourselves against Soviet totalitarianism."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/19/world/senate-votes-52-48-not-to-block-aid-to-contras.html|title=Senate Votes, 52-48 Not to Block Aid to Contras|date=March 19, 1987|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In August 1988, Senator [[Robert Byrd]] presented the White House with a modified version of the Democratic proposal on Contra aid. Thurmond responded to the plan by calling it unsatisfactory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/09/world/republicans-object-to-new-contra-deal.html|title=Republicans Object to New Contra Deal|date=August 9, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> A month later, after some members of the Senate gave support to a law that would impose American participation in an international treaty outlawing genocide, Thurmond stated his intent to add a death penalty amendment in the event the bill reached the Senate floor and Democrats charged Thurmond with using parliamentary devices and Senate traditions to prevent a vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/1988/09/27/world/bill-banning-genocide-still-snagged-in-senate.html|title=Bill Banning Genocide Still Snagged in Senate|date=September 27, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond dropped the death penalty amendment when Democrats agreed to proceed with the confirmation of Republican judges.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/15/world/senate-votes-to-carry-out-treaty-banning-genocide.html|title=Senate Votes to Carry Out Treaty Banning Genocide|date=October 15, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In September 1986, Thurmond sponsored a drug law package that included a provision imposing the death penalty for some drug offenses and federal crimes of "treason, espionage and killing American hostages in a terrorist attack".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/20/us/senate-gop-adds-its-own-drug-bill.html|title=Senate G.O.P. Adds Its Own Drug Bill|date=September 20, 1986|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> A week later, as the Senate opened debate on proposals aimed at ending both the supply of dangerous drugs as well as their demand, Thurmond offered changes to criminal law in the form of amendments that would include imposing the death penalty for drug traffickers guilty of murder and an expansion of the proposal that would add the death penalty for other federal crimes, such as espionage and hostage taking.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/27/us/senate-takes-up-drug-bill-with-session-waning.html|title=Senate Takes up Drug Bill With Session Waning|date=September 27, 1986|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> President Reagan signed the [[Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986]] on October 27, 1986, noting Thurmond as one of the "real champions in the battle to get this legislation through Congress".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=36654|title=Remarks on Signing the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986|date=October 27, 1986|publisher=American Presidency Project|first=Ronald|last=Reagan|author-link=Ronald Reagan|access-date=April 10, 2018|archive-date=April 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410201728/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=36654|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:President Ronald Reagan Meeting with Senator Strom Thurmond in The Oval Office.jpg|thumb|left|President [[Ronald Reagan]] with Thurmond in the Oval Office in 1987]]
In November 1987, Thurmond introduced legislation that if enacted would require "alcoholic beverages to carry health warning labels similar to those on cigarettes", saying the legislation would be effective if it prevented anyone from drinking while being in a compromising position of health.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/11/18/Sen-Strom-Thurmond-R-SC-continued-his-attack-on-alcohol/7822564210000/|title=Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., continued his attack on alcohol...|first=Karen Lee|last=Scrivo|publisher=UPI}}</ref> The following year, Thurmond sponsored legislation designed to impose "five rotating warning labels on alcoholic beverages cautioning pregnant women not to drink, warning that alcohol is addictive and can increase the risks of hypertension, liver disease and cancer, that it impairs a person's ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and that alcohol consumption can be hazardous in combination with some drugs."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/08/10/Health-warning-on-liquor-bottles-urged/1575587188800/ph|title=Health warning on liquor bottles urged|first=Mary Beth|last=Franklin|date=August 10, 1988|publisher=UPI}}</ref>

On February 23, 1988, Thurmond endorsed fellow senator [[Bob Dole]] in the Republican presidential primary, acknowledging his previous intent to remain neutral during the nominating process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/23/us/dole-endorsed-by-thurmond.html|title=Dole Endorsed by Thurmond|date=February 23, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The Thurmond endorsement served to change the Dole campaign's initial plans of skipping the South Carolina primary, where Vice President Bush defeated Dole. The Bush campaign subsequently won other Southern states and the nomination, leading Michael Oreskes to reflect that Dole "was hurt by an endorsement that led him astray."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/27/weekinreview/the-nation-dukakis-and-bush-why-the-candidates-love-to-be-endorsed.html|title=The Nation; Dukakis and Bush; Why the Candidates Love to be Endorsed|date=March 27, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525093208/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/27/weekinreview/the-nation-dukakis-and-bush-why-the-candidates-love-to-be-endorsed.html|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the 1988 Presidential election, George H. W. Bush nominated [[John Tower]] for [[United States Secretary of Defense]]. After Tower's nomination was rejected by the Senate, Thurmond asked, "What does it say when the leader of the free world can't get a Cabinet member confirmed?"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/11/us/an-attempt-to-recover-bush-seeks-to-end-rancor-over-tower.html|title=An Attempt To Recover; Bush Seeks to End Rancor Over Tower|date=March 11, 1989|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525114345/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/11/us/an-attempt-to-recover-bush-seeks-to-end-rancor-over-tower.html|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 1989, when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill by Democrat [[Dennis DeConcini]] that imposed a ban of three years on sales of several domestic assault weapons, it rejected an amendment by Thurmond that would have substituted the DeConcini bill with the Bush administration's anti-crime package, which did not include a ban on rifles produced in the United States. Failure to implement the Thurmond amendment was seen as "a preliminary test of Senate support for extending President Bush's ban on foreign-made assault weapons to domestic makes" and a loss for the [[National Rifle Association of America]] which had previously protested banning domestic assault weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-21-mn-4248-story.html|title=Senate Panel OKs U.S.-Made Assault Rifle Ban|date=July 21, 1989|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807201520/https://articles.latimes.com/1989-07-21/news/mn-4248_1_assault-weapon|archive-date=August 7, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In August, after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted evenly on the nomination of William C. Lucas for Assist Attorney General for Civil Rights and thereby terminated the nomination that required a majority to proceed to the entirety of the chamber,  Thurmond noted the different forms of segregation in the North and South and added that "black people didn't have the chance in either place that they should have had. Now's the chance to give them a chance." Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [[Joe Biden]] refuted Thurmond's argument by mentioning that Senate critics of Lucas were civil rights supporters who had a problem with his lack of qualifications.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/02/us/senate-committee-bars-bush-s-choice-from-rights-post.html|title=Senate Committee Bars Bush's Choice From Rights Post|date=August 2, 1989|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525104901/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/02/us/senate-committee-bars-bush-s-choice-from-rights-post.html|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In September, Thurmond was one of nine Republican senators appointed by Senate Republican leader [[Robert Dole]] to negotiate a dispute with Democrats over financing of President Bush's anti-drug plan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/09/14/Senate-drug-funding-dispute-threatens-money-bills/3024621748800/|title=Senate drug funding dispute threatens money bills|first=Steve|last=Gerstel|date=September 14, 1989|publisher=UPI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125162802/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/09/14/Senate-drug-funding-dispute-threatens-money-bills/3024621748800/|archive-date=November 25, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1990s and 2000s ===
Thurmond launched his campaign for an eighth term on February 12, 1990, citing that he had never before felt "a stronger obligation to continue my work for the future of our state and our nation."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/02/12/Thurmond-announces-bid-for-seventh-term/1082634798800/|title=Thurmond announces bid for seventh term|date=February 12, 1990|publisher=UPI}}</ref> Thurmond, then age 87, billed himself as having the health of a man in his fifties. The South Carolina Democratic Party faced difficulty recruiting a candidate which they believed had a chance of defeating Thurmond.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/02/11/Fiddle-fit-Thurmond-going-after-another-term/9968634712400/|title=Fiddle-fit Thurmond going after another term|publisher=UPI}}</ref> In the general election, Thurmond defeated retired intelligence officer Bob Cunningham, who had been his Republican primary opponent in 1984. (Cunningham had switched parties in 1990.)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/07/us/the-1990-elections-state-by-state-south.html|title=The 1990 Elections: State By State; South|date=November 7, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In early 1990, Thurmond sponsored a crime bill concurrent with another measure of the same intent, his version receiving the support of President Bush.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/24/us/senate-backs-curb-on-assault-rifles-by-a-vote-of-50-49.html|title=Senate Backs Curb on Assault Rifles by a Vote of 50-49|date=May 24, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond charged the Democratic proposal with aiding criminals and furthering the loss of rights on the part of victims.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/22/us/senate-begins-debate-on-anti-crime-bill.html|title=Senate Begins Debate on Anti-Crime Bill|date=May 22, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In June, the bill was nearly doomed following a procedural vote that forced Senate leaders to work toward modifying its provisions. Thurmond proposed that his fellow senators accept portions of the bill that the Senate had already passed including provisions expanding the number of federal crimes for which the death penalty could apply from 23 to 30 and restrictions on the number of appeals a condemned inmate may file in Federal courts, and the ban on the sale and manufacture of nine types of semiautomatic weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/08/us/senate-s-leaders-move-to-salvage-crime-measure.html|title=Senate's Leaders Move to Salvage Crime Measure|date=June 8, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In 1992, the Senate voted on an anti-crime bill, Thurmond predicting that it would not pass due to what he considered its lack of strength: "This weak bill expands the rights of criminals. It is a fraud. It is a sham." He stated that President Bush had told him in advance of his intent to veto the bill if it passed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/19/Senate-refuses-to-kill-anti-crime-bill-filibuster/1767700981200/|title=Senate refuses to kill anti-crime bill filibuster|first=Steve|last=Gerstel|date=March 19, 1992|publisher=UPI}}</ref>

After President Bush nominated [[Clarence Thomas]] for Associate Justice, Thomas visited Thurmond and stated that he had been fortunate as a result of the Civil Rights Movement assisting him in getting out of poverty, a departure from his previous position of African-Americans achieving success through hard work and individual initiative. ''The New York Times'' observed, "Judge Thomas's remarks in Mr. Thurmond's office were not in response to reporters' specific questions and were clearly intended to rebut critics, including some by members of civil rights organizations, who say he should not be confirmed because of his vociferous opposition to affirmative action and racial quotas in hiring."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/10/us/court-nominee-gives-credit-to-civil-rights-movement.html|title=Court Nominee Gives Credit To Civil Rights Movement|date=July 10, 1991|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In September, as Thomas appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thurmond interrupted a line of questioning by [[Howard Metzenbaum]] to defend Thomas against a complaint that Thomas had answered questions about cases except for abortion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/12/us/the-thomas-hearings-thomas-undergoes-tough-questioning-on-past-remarks.html?mtrref=www.nytimes.com&gwh=DEA24C7A03E5803D59F8E76F62688902&gwt=pay|title=Thomas Undergoes Tough Questioning on Past Remarks|date=September 11, 1991|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Thurmond voted for Thomas's confirmation, and the latter was confirmed by the Senate in October 1991.

Thurmond became the head of the Armed Services Committee following the 1994 [[Republican Revolution]], in which the Republican Party gained eight seats in the Senate and gained a majority in both chambers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/10/us/1994-elections-congress-overview-gop-celebrates-its-sweep-power-clinton-vows.html|title=The 1994 Elections: Congress the Overview; G.O.P. CELEBRATES ITS SWEEP TO POWER; CLINTON VOWS TO FIND COMMON GROUND|date=November 10, 1994|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> According to Thurmond, he had survived "a little power play" orchestrated by fellow Republicans to continue serving as Chairman.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/08/us/power-play-failed-thurmond-says.html|title='Power Play' Failed, Thurmond Says|date=February 8, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In December, after President Clinton's announcement that he would seek a $25 billion increase in defense spending over the following six years, Thurmond called it a correct move but one which validated claims that the president had hastily cut the Pentagon budget.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/12/01/Thurmond-praises-criticizes-Clinton/6339786258000/ph|title=Thurmond praises, criticizes Clinton|date=December 1, 1994|publisher=UPI}}</ref> In late 1995, Thurmond joined a bipartisan coalition of politicians in supporting a petition intending "to loosen the rules governing the prescription drug methylphenidate". [[Methylphenidate|The drug]] is commonly known by the brand name Ritalin.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/21/opinion/reading-writing-and-ritalin.html|first=John|last=Merrow|title=Reading, Writing and Ritalin|date=October 21, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In his [[1996 United States Senate election in South Carolina|1996 re-election campaign]], Thurmond received primary opposition from Harold G. Worley and Charlie Thompson, and the question of age appeared again, given that he was 93 years old at the time. Thurmond remarked that the issue was the only one expressed by members of the press,<ref name="Grove">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/04/08/the-100-year-old-senator/d35cb667-e382-4097-9c81-402a6a469d40/|title=The 100-year-old Senator?|first=Lloyd|last=Grove|date=April 8, 1996|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> even as polls showed "that the vast majority of South Carolinians believe it is far past time for him to retire."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/24/us/thurmond-s-robust-legend-shields-him-at-93.html|title=Thurmond's Robust Legend Shields Him at 93|date=October 24, 1996|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Worley stated that the issue of age should be dealt with in the primary as opposed to the general election, encouraging Thurmond to be dropped as the seat's continuous nominee.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9605/09/thurmond/index.shtml|title=South Carolina's Thurmond Still Running At 93|first=Bruce|last=Morton|work=CNN}}</ref> In the general election, Thurmond received 53.4 percent of the vote to the 44 percent of Democrat Elliott Springs Close.

On December 5, 1996, Thurmond became the oldest serving member of the U.S. Senate, and on May 25, 1997, the longest-serving member (41 years and 10 months), casting his 15,000th vote in September 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-03-mn-19126-story.html|title=Senate Honors Thurmond, 95, for Casting His 15,000th Vote|date=September 3, 1998|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In the following month, when astronaut and fellow Senator [[John Glenn]] was to embark on the [[Space Shuttle Discovery|''Discovery'']] at age 77, Thurmond, who was his senior by 19 years, reportedly sent him a message saying; "I want to go too."<ref>''National Geographic,'' June 1999 edition, p.80</ref> On October 17, 1998, President [[Bill Clinton]] signed the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 into law, an authorization of "appropriations for military activities of the Department of Defense, military construction, and defense activities of the Department of Energy." Clinton stated that the bill being named after Thurmond was a "well-deserved and appropriate tribute" due to his thirty-six years in the U.S. Army Reserve and his primary focus in the Senate being on U.S. national defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=55105|title=Statement on Signing the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999|date=October 17, 1998|first=Bill|last=Clinton|author-link=Bill Clinton|publisher=American Presidency Project}}</ref>
[[File:Senator Thurmond 100th Birthday.jpg|thumb|310px|Army Chief of Staff [[Eric Shinseki]] meeting with<br/>Senator Thurmond on his 100th birthday.]]
In February 1999, Thurmond introduced legislation barring health messages on wine bottles, the measure intended to reverse what he called "erroneous and irresponsible" action of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The legislation transferred authority over labeling to the Department of Health and Human Services from the Treasury Department and increased taxes on wine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stout |first=David |date=February 23, 1999 |title=Bill Would Bar Health Referral On Wine Label |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/23/us/bill-would-bar-health-referral-on-wine-label.html}}</ref> On May 26, 1999, the Senate voted on an amendment to a spending bill exonerating Husband E. Kimmel and Walter C. Short of charges of failing to anticipate the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] that led to American involvement in World War II. Thurmond was noted as one of five Senate members to have been a World War II veteran and back the measure and called Kimmel and Short "the last victims" of Pearl Harbor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shenon |first=Philip |date=May 26, 1999 |title=Senate Clears 2 Pearl Harbor 'Scapegoats' |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/26/us/senate-clears-2-pearl-harbor-scapegoats.html |access-date=May 1, 2018}}</ref> In January 2001, Thurmond endorsed his son Strom Thurmond Jr. for federal prosecutor in South Carolina in a recommendation to the Senate.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 24, 2001 |title=National News Briefs; Thurmond Recommends Son for U.S. Attorney |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/24/us/national-news-briefs-thurmond-recommends-son-for-us-attorney.html}}</ref>
In March, Thurmond voted for an amendment to the campaign finance reform bill of [[John McCain]] and [[Russ Feingold]]. Thurmond had initially opposed the measure and changed his vote at the last minute.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Alison |date=March 27, 2001 |title=Senate Extends Restrictions on Advertising |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/27/us/senate-extends-restrictions-on-advertising.html}}</ref>

Thurmond's 100th birthday was celebrated on December 5, 2002. Some remarks made by Mississippi Senator [[Trent Lott]] during the event were considered racially insensitive: "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we [<nowiki/>[[Mississippi]]] [[1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi|voted for him]]. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Fifteen days later, on December 20, [[Trent Lott#Resignation from Senate leadership|Lott resigned as the Senate Republican leader]] effective on January 3, 2003, the beginning of the next congressional session.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bartlett |first=Bruce |title=Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0230600621 |page=182}}</ref> Thurmond left the Senate in January 2003 as the United States' longest-serving senator, a record later surpassed by Senator [[Robert Byrd]].<ref>{{cite news |date=December 5, 2002 |title=Thurmond marks 100th birthday |work=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/05/thurmond.birthday/index.html}}</ref> Thurmond was succeeded by then-Representative and fellow Republican [[Lindsey Graham]].

=== Health ===
Toward the end of Thurmond's Senate career, critics suggested his mental abilities had declined. His supporters argued that, while he lacked physical stamina due to his age, mentally he remained aware and attentive, and maintained a very active work schedule, showing up for every floor vote. He stepped down as Chairman of the [[Senate Armed Services Committee]] at the beginning of 1999, as he had pledged to do in late 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-05-mn-60950-story.html|title=Sen. Thurmond to Quit Armed Services Post|date=December 5, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Retrospectively, a Senate aide stated that "for his last ten years, Thurmond didn't know if he was on foot or on horseback", while a 2020 ''New Yorker'' article stated that he was "widely known" by the end of his career to be ''[[non compos mentis]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mayer |first=Jane |date=2020-12-10 |title=Dianne Feinstein's Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrats |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/dianne-feinsteins-missteps-raise-a-painful-age-question-among-senate-democrats |access-date=2022-12-04 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?174100-1/senator-thurmond-100th-birthday Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party, held at the Dirksen Senate office building, December 5, 2002], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?174377-1/strom-thurmonds-political-memorabilia Tour of Thurmond's Senate office prior to his retirement, December 19, 2002], [[C-SPAN]]}}

In August 1999, Thurmond underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate. In September, he was admitted to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for tests.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/13/us/national-news-briefs-thurmond-hospitalized-for-more-tests.html|title=National News Briefs; Thurmond Hospitalized For More Tests|date=September 13, 1999|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In October 2000, Thurmond collapsed while lunching with a staff member and an acquaintance at a restaurant in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], and was admitted to Walter Reed; his spokeswoman Genevieve Erny stated that the collapse was found to have been unrelated to previous illnesses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/us/strom-thurmond-in-hospital-after-collapse.html|title=Strom Thurmond in Hospital After Collapse|date=October 1, 2000|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>  On the morning of October 2, 2001, Thurmond was admitted to Walter Reed after fainting at his Senate desk. He was accompanied in the ambulance by fellow Republican and retired heart transplant surgeon [[Bill Frist]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101930604/|title=Ailing Strom Thurmond Faints in Senate Chamber|date=October 3, 2001|newspaper=Asheville Citizen-Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/03/us/thurmond-taken-to-hospital-after-fainting.html|title=Thurmond Taken to Hospital After Fainting|date=October 3, 2001|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>