Halliburton was originally Brown & Root, a Texas-based company. When Lyndon Johnson was a mere congressional secretary to Rep. Dick Kleberg if Corpus Christi, he managed to obtain the power to distribute New Deal pork throughout Texas, despite the fact that the state's congressmen and senators were Democrats, and the Vice President was from Texas. Much of that pork went to Brown & Root.
When Johnson was elected to the House in a special election, he gained real power due to his membership on the Naval Affairs Committee, thanks to the influence of Sam Rayburn. Massive amounts of New Deal pork went to Brown & Root, and Herman Brown became one of Johnson's biggest financial supporters throughout his career.
During the Vietnam War, Brown & Root made massive amounts of money building military bases throughout the country, thanks to Lyndon Johnson.
Well, that’s new news too me.
But it does not surprise me a’tall.