Cassidy Hutchinson: 10 Facts About The Former White House Aide And Trump Whistleblower
You probably know of Cassidy Jacqueline Hutchinson as the former White House aide to Mark Meadows, who served as President Donald Trump's chief of staff. While the young political aide kept a relatively low profile throughout her early career, Hutchinson became somewhat of a household name when she testified before the January 6 committee in June 2022. The House committee was formed to investigate the role Trump, as well as other politicians, attorneys, and figures, might have played in the violent riots that occurred at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
The country watched and listened as the then-25-year-old former White House aide detailed her observations and experiences with Meadows, Trump, and other key White House figures. Hutchinson may be best remembered for being a whistleblower thanks to her bombshell testimony; however, there is more to know about her than just what she revealed to the committee on that day.
Cassidy Hutchinson grew up in New Jersey
Like many who emerged into the spotlight after the Congressional January 6 Committee hearings, Cassidy Hutchinson did not grow up in a famous family like the Trumps. According to El Pais, Hutchinson was born in 1996 and grew up in Pennington, a relatively small town located in New Jersey, north of the state's capital. She attended Hopewell Valley Central High School, which is also located in Pennington. The school itself boasts strong academics. According to its official website, a whopping 79% of Hopewell Valley Central High School's graduating class of 2021 went on to four-year colleges, while 13% attended two-year colleges.
According to CentralJersey.com, Hutchinson was among seven students in her graduating class who were presented with the Hopewell Township Mayor's Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution for her work on the Youth Advisory Committee. After graduating from high school in 2015, Hutchinson went on to attend a four-year college out of state.
Cassidy Hutchinson went on to study political science
After graduating from Hopewell Valley Central High School, Cassidy Hutchinson attended Christopher Newport University, located along the Virginia coast. She majored in political science at the small university, which set her up for her future career in public service.
Hutchinson was the first in her family to attend college, as she revealed in an interview with her alma mater in 2018. A senior at the time, Hutchinson said, "My classes are intellectually stimulating, yet it's my professors that will be my fondest memory. They have provided an enriching educational experience both in and out of the classroom while offering constant encouragement."
When asked about her plans following graduation, Hutchinson explained, "I'm keeping every opportunity at my fingertips and am open to any job that comes my way. I am confident I will be an effective leader in the fight to secure the American dream for future generations, so they too will have the bountiful opportunities and freedoms that make the United States great." These are certainly words of a young woman full of hope in her career and service.
A scholarship helped launch Cassidy Hutchinson's political career
Attending Christopher Newport University not only gave Cassidy Hutchinson access to a quality education in political science, but the small university also provided several opportunities for her to grow her career. In fact, it was during her university years that she started interning for politicians.
This stemmed from a scholarship to work at the U.S. Capitol, where Hutchinson interned for prominent Republicans, such as House Republican whip Steve Scalise and Republican Senator Ted Cruz. "I have set a personal goal to pursue a path of civic significance," she told her university in 2018. It also helped that her university was only a few hours' drive from Washington, D.C.
While specific details about her work with Scalise and Cruz weren't made public at the time, the fact that Hutchinson worked for two high-profile members of the GOP was significant. Cruz was first elected as a U.S. senator from Texas in 2012, and he later ran for president in 2016. Scalise, who is from Louisiana, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008. As of this writing, Scalise is also vying for the vacated House Speaker seat, NBC News reported.
She interned at the Trump White House
While Cassidy Hutchinson's internships for the offices of Ted Cruz and Steve Scalise were likely exciting, she landed an even more high-profile internship. During Hutchinson's junior year in college in 2018, she obtained a position within the White House Internship Program. Her prestigious internship took place during the controversial Trump administration.
Despite any controversies, though, Hutchinson couldn't be more excited about the opportunity. Later that year, she told her university, "I was brought to tears when I received the email that I had been selected to participate. ... Being selected to serve as an intern alongside some of the most intelligent and driven students from across the nation — many of whom attend top universities — was an honor and a tremendous growing experience."
During her internship, Hutchinson put her previous experiences with Congress to use within the Office of Legislative Affairs. "I attended numerous events hosted by the president, such as signing ceremonies, celebrations and presidential announcements, and frequently watched Marine One depart the South Lawn from my office window," she explained. "My small contribution to the quest to maintain American prosperity and excellence is a memory I will hold as one of the honors of my life."
After graduating from college, Cassidy Hutchinson went back to the White House
Thanks to the White House Internship Program, Cassidy Hutchinson was able to get her foot in the door of the West Wing. She gained recognition as an intern and later landed a job at the White House following graduation from college.
In March 2019, Hutchinson was hired to help with the White House's legislative agenda, according to El País. While she wasn't widely known to the public at the time, Hutchinson was doing what was viewed as important work by the Trump administration, and she also utilized her previous Congressional internships to inform her work with the legislative branch of government.
During this time, she also established a good relationship with then-Representative Mark Meadows from North Carolina. President Trump hired Meadows as his chief of staff in March 2020 to succeed acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. "Mark is a really savvy strategist," an anonymous Trump administration official told The Washington Post at the time. "You love him or hate him, but anyone who knows him knows he thinks three-dimensionally at all times." In March 2020, Hutchinson was hired as Meadows' executive assistant. The following year, she became the special assistant to the president and coordinator for legislative affairs, according to her LinkedIn profile. However, as Hutchinson explained to the January 6 Committee, "Mr. Meadows and [she] were in contact pretty much throughout every day, consistently" (via ABC News).
Cassidy Hutchinson supported Trump's 2020 reelection campaign
Cassidy Hutchinson was among the many White House employees who supported President Trump's reelection. In fact, in September 2020, Hutchinson was photographed next to then-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during Donald Trump's campaign rally in Swanton, Ohio. The two were seen dancing to the Village People's "YMCA," which the Associated Press explained was often played at the end of Trump's campaign rallies.
Due to the widely circulated photograph of Hutchinson and McEnany, Hutchinson gained attention from others outside of Washington, D.C. This included an opinion columnist, Nancy Colasurdo, who grew up in the same area as Hutchinson. As Colasurdo wrote the Star-Ledger, the photograph combined with Hutchinson's political background made her "shudder." However, Colasurdo also said of Hutchison's testimony during the January 6 hearings, "On the stand, I found her credible, engaging and, yes, courageous. Do our politics have to be aligned for me to respect what she did? Not at all. She put country over party."
Cassidy Hutchinson remained at the White House after the events of January 6, 2021
After the pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, a number of White House officials decided to resign from their posts. According to the Wall Street Journal, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was the first to resign on January 7, telling President Trump in her resignation letter, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me." Other officials soon followed, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.
However, some Trump officials decided to stay on the job until Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. These included Cassidy Hutchinson as well as her boss, Mark Meadows. Hutchinson, like some of the others who remained at the White House, saw it as her responsibility to help "maintain protocols," CNN reported. In retrospect, Hutchinson also described herself as a "loyal foot soldier" of President Donald Trump.
Whether Hutchinson did the right thing by staying at her job or not could arguably be judged by future historians, though judgment from the public came much sooner.
Cassidy Hutchinson publicly testified before the January 6 committee in 2022
On June 28, 2022, Cassidy Hutchinson seemingly became a public figure overnight when she testified to the January 6 committee. The committee itself was formed to investigate the causes of the Capitol riots and whether any public figures were complicit, including former President Donald Trump. Hutchinson was specifically subpoenaed due to her proximity to Trump, as well as to provide the committee with insights into former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' actions around that day.
As ABC News reported, Hutchinson had previously sat for four depositions before the committee prior to her public testimony. During her public testimony, Hutchinson explained, "I know that there were concerns brought forward to Mr. Meadows. ... I know that people had brought information forward to him that had indicated that there could be violence on the 6th. But, again, I'm not sure if he — what he did with that information internally."
Other notable parts of her testimony that day included information about President Trump's behavior and reactions on January 6, 2021. This included her cleaning ketchup off a wall after Trump apparently threw a plate of food upon hearing in media outlets that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in December 2020. She also relayed to the January 6 committee a conversation she'd had with Meadows, in which he told her, "Things might get real, real bad on January 6th" (via The Washington Post).
In 2023, Cassidy Hutchinson published a bombshell memoir about her experiences
In late 2023, Cassidy Hutchinson published a memoir in the wake of her testimony. Titled "Enough," Hutchinson's book details information surrounding the January 6 Capitol riots, which was not a huge shock given her hearings before the House committee. What was interesting, however, was the way Hutchinson was able to provide insights and new details into the chaos at the White House around that time. Among these included Meadows allegedly burning documents and leaking information to right-wing media. "Cass, if I can get through this job and manage to keep (Trump) out of jail, I'll have done a good job," Hutchinson quoted Meadows as telling her in summer 2020 (via CNN).
Hutchinson shared other bombshells in her memoir, too — some of which have understandably been pushed back against since the book's release. "If somebody wants to attack the way that they come off in the book, I'm not going to hold myself responsible for what they may say about the way that they're framed," Hutchinson told People. "I'm holding them accountable to their own actions." The former White House aide's book detailed President Donald Trump's intentional defiance of COVID-19 safety measures and how Meadows felt guilt about Herman Cain dying from complications related to the virus.
Hutchinson even claimed that Trump didn't like wearing masks because they smudged his bronzer. On a more serious note, Hutchinson accused Rudy Giuliani of groping her on the morning of January 6 prior to the Capitol riots.
She no longer views Trump as 'a strong Republican'
While some people have praised Cassidy Hutchinson for coming forward with her testimony and memoir, Donald Trump loyalists have portrayed Hutchinson as a traitor. Even former President Trump has weighed in on Hutchinson. "I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and 'leaker'), and when she requested to go with certain others of the team to Florida after my having served a full term in office, I personally turned her request down," he wrote in a Truth social post (via PolitiFact).
It's also not just Republicans who have criticized Hutchinson for speaking out about the White House and January 6. Democrats have also criticized Hutchinson for first having loyalty to Trump and then doing a 180 while testifying, according to columnist Nancy Colasurdo. However, as the columnist noted, "She didn't have to testify in public, but she did her patriotic duty."
While Hutchinson explained on "The Rachel Maddow Show" in September 2023 that she still aligns with the Republican party, she made it clear how she feels about Trump, saying, "I do not believe that Mr. Trump is a strong Republican" (via The Hill). She continued, saying, "He has been indicted four times since Jan. 6. I would not have a clear conscience and be able to sleep at night if I were a Republican in Congress that supported Donald Trump."