 He first rose to national prominence when the committee considered accusations that Alger Hiss, a high-ranking United States Department of State official, was a communist spy for the Soviet Union, allegations that remain a source of controversy.In 1952, as a member of the United States Senate, Nixon was the vice presidential running mate of Republican presidential nominee Dwight Eisenhower.After he was accused during the campaign of having an improper political fund, he saved his political career and his spot on Eisenhower's ticket by making a nationally broadcast speech, commonly known as the Checkers speech.