Enough

In her role as Ben Howard’s aide in the OLA, Hutchinson often met with figures such as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, whom she found particularly “traditional” and formal. Howard and Hutchinson built collaborative relationships with politicians by organizing events and making friendly gestures such as gift-giving. Hutchinson prided herself on her personable nature and ability to foster relationships with others. Hutchinson introduced herself to Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Representative, on his birthday by giving him a gift, determined to “establish a relationship with him” since he was very close with President Trump (53).

During this time, Hutchinson and her longtime boyfriend broke up; they had grown apart, and she was consumed with work. Moreover, her boyfriend did not support the Trump administration. While the author was upset, she also tried to embrace her independence and “escaped into work” (54). As she recalls her work building her professional network with Republican politicians and staffers, she also shares an anecdote about Representative John Boehner pulling her hair at an event.

In September 2019, Pelosi began the impeachment inquiry against Trump “over his call with President Zelenskyy,” in which he tried to pressure the Ukrainian president into slandering Joe Biden (54). President Trump responded by ordering Republicans to engage in a “media campaign” against the impeachment; Hutchinson sent hourly emails to Republican representatives with talking points for interviews. 

Hutchinson was disappointed that the impeachment went through, as she felt it put Republicans at a disadvantage in the upcoming election. She also felt that Trump’s actions were not “egregious” enough to warrant impeachment and was concerned that impeachments would become more common and more politically motivated. She began working more closely with Meadows, who was not yet Trump’s chief of staff but was quickly gaining the president’s trust and spending more time with him.

Hutchinson recalls how she and other OLA colleagues worked to ensure that no Republicans would “defect” from supporting Trump during the impeachment inquiry. One of their strategies was to organize Camp David retreats for Republican politicians, where they would discuss the president’s agenda. Hutchinson recalls, “Members loved being at Camp David, and they loved hearing from the president, even if only by phone. And the president loved that he otherwise had his weekend free to spend at his northern Virginia golf club” (60).

Hutchinson often worked until midnight and refused to take any time off. She continued to rally Republicans around Trump, insisting that the impeachment inquiry was “partisan gamesmanship,” though she thought that the president’s call with Zelenskyy was “inappropriate.” Hutchinson claims that due to her “exhaustion,” she hadn’t reflected on her own actions; instead, she was focused on the fact that she “landed [her] dream job and was a loyal foot soldier” (64). She recounts positive experiences, like the president remembering her name, and negative ones, like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi talking down to her and Representative Matt Gaetz touching her face and calling her a “national treasure” at a bar.

After the impeachment inquiry, Meadows told Hutchinson that he would be retiring at the end of his term. She was surprised and curious when Representative Matt Gaetz hinted that Meadows had plans that would include Hutchinson. 

By the winter of 2020, Ben Howard left OLA to take a job in the private sector. Eric Ueland, the director of OLA, promoted Hutchinson to the position of “Special Assistant to the president” (68). The author wondered if she was really qualified for the position but accepted it, feeling uncertain and nervous about her role with the election looming.

At around this time, the president reacted to news about the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a travel ban on non-Americans in China. Hutchinson recalls how Nancy Pelosi condemned the travel ban as discriminatory. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened, and the Trump administration passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) (72). However, Hutchinson notes that Trump’s poor temperament and lack of compassion made him “uniquely unsuited to the challenge” of guiding the US through the pandemic, saying he “lacked empathy and was stubborn and impatient” (72).

In February 2020, the Senate acquitted Trump of his impeachment. The president was furious with Senator Mitt Romney, who was the only Republican who voted to convict Trump. Within OLA, rumors abounded about Meadows angling for the chief of staff job; Hutchinson did not think he wanted the job, though she suspected that Eric Uener wanted the position and felt threatened by Meadows. Dissatisfied with her job, Hutchinson explored applying for another position, but Meadows convinced her to stay. As Hutchinson was traveling to New Jersey to see her family, she heard that Meadows became Trump’s new chief of staff. He quickly offered her the opportunity to work for him.

Due to Meadow’s confusing actions before accepting the chief of staff position, Hutchinson did not “entirely trust” him but still thought they would work well together. With the mentorship of her old colleague Ben Howard, Hutchinson decided to accept the position as long as she was working for the chief of staff rather than Meadows personally and had a specific job description. She felt sad to leave her OLA job and wondered who would take over her position. 

Even if Trump won a second term, Hutchinson doubted that Meadows would last as chief of staff since he was already Trump’s fourth in as many years. However, she felt that working for Meadows would raise her chances of getting a more senior position in the future. At her first meeting with Meadows, a nervous Hutchinson was dismayed that Meadows wanted office gossip about who might be leaking information. Meadows wondered if he should fire Eric Ueland and Hutchinson strongly disagreed, but she offered Mike McKenna, an energy advisor, as a person to eliminate since she found him “cocky,” “sexist,” and “brash” (81). She was shocked when he was quickly fired.

Meadows informed Hutchinson that she could have any title she wanted and that she was primarily going to be his “eyes and ears” (81). The author claims she did not want to be a part of the Trump administration’s “paranoia” but felt empowered by her new job and the fact that Meadows allowed her to act on his behalf. She hoped that Meadows would temper his tendency toward hardline conservatism and learn how to be diplomatic and compromise. She was concerned about Meadows’s intention to “restaff” OLA and tried to build bridges between him and the House and Senate offices in the East Wing.

Concerned about Trump’s reelection chances amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson offered Meadows strategies about how the Republican party could pass minor legislation tackling issues like the opioid crisis, human trafficking, and workforce development. However, Meadows was uninterested in “bipartisan wins” and instead wanted to rally Trump’s base with big, conservative legislation. Frustrated, Hutchinson considered this goal impossible but was afraid of seeming disloyal.

Prompted by conversations with her Ben Howard, Hutchinson became closer with Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, helping him with his agenda although she knew that Meadows did not like him. Sometimes, Hutchinson acted on McCarthy’s instructions over Meadows’s if she disliked Meadows’s opinion. Hutchinson recalls her first one-on-one interaction with President Trump in April 2020 when she gave him a list of recommended names to include on a COVID-19 call. As people practiced social distancing during the pandemic, Hutchinson and her colleagues were concerned about Trump’s state of mind, and she felt that he was more irritable from spending so much time alone. Hutchinson and her colleagues arranged retreats to Camp David, where she was personally and professionally enmeshed in Trump’s inner circle.