Enough

“Enough” is a 2023 memoir by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. In her work, Hutchinson details her personal backstory and reveals the inner workings of the Trump administration from her perspective as the Chief of Staff’s top aide. Hutchinson’s detailed accounts include anecdotes about the president and his staff, including their actions on January 6, 2021. She also explains how she came to testify for the January 6 Committee, an act that formalized her split from Trump’s circle and put her in the political spotlight. Hutchinson’s revelations in Enough have been widely discussed in the American media, and the book is a New York Times bestseller.

Content Warning: This book addresses sensitive political topics and contains references to the events of January 6, 2021, which may be distressing to some readers.

This guide refers to the 2023 Kindle edition.

Summary

In her Prologue, Hutchinson reveals the immense dread and panic she experienced while testifying before the January 6 Committee. Her testimony had legal and political consequences for President Trump and his staff, but also personal consequences for Hutchinson herself; she knew that she would lose friends, working relationships, and opportunities by testifying.

Chapters 1-3 focus on Hutchinson’s early life. Born in Pennington, New Jersey, her father distrusted the government and taught Hutchinson to be wary of government workers and value privacy and independence. Hutchinson recalls resenting her father for his long absences from home since he worked two jobs, and he was emotionally unavailable when he was home. When her parents divorced, Hutchinson's relationship with her father became increasingly strained. After high school, she attended Christopher Newport University, making her the first person in her family to attend college.

In Chapters 4 and 5 Hutchinson recalls voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election during her second year of university. She attended his 100th Day Rally, at which she felt “transfixed” and “electrified” by the excitement, and she became a fervent Trump supporter. During that summer, she completed internships for Congressman Steve Scalise and Senator Ted Cruz, two Republican politicians. She later interned in the Office of Legislative Affairs, and once she graduated, she was hired as an aide to Ben Howard in that office.

Hutchinson recalls her disappointment over Trump’s first impeachment and how hard she worked to rally Republicans to support the president during that time. She reluctantly accepted a promotion and became a Special Aide to the president. When Mark Meadows became the new Chief of Staff, he immediately hired her on as his closest aide and instructed her to be his “eyes and ears” in the administration (81). The author claims she did not want to be a part of the “paranoia” of the Trump administration, but she felt empowered by her new job and the fact that Meadows allowed her to represent him and communicate on his behalf.

She developed a friendly working relationship with Kevin McCarthy, a Republican congressman from California and House Minority Leader, and became more distrustful of Meadows, who complicated her work by entangling her in intraoffice competition. She also began to disagree more with Trump’s approach to governing. She was horrified by his response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that began in reaction to George Floyd’s murder by police. With the COVID-19 pandemic complicating daily life and the election looming, President Trump became increasingly erratic and temperamental.

In Chapters 10-12, Hutchinson recalls supporting Meadows through a second COVID relief bill negotiation, which ultimately failed, before they turned their attention to Trump’s reelection. Hutchinson explains how concerned she was about Trump’s COVID diagnosis and his preoccupation with appearing strong and healthy while he was still sick. While Hutchinson still wanted Trump to win the election, she disapproved of his reckless handling of his illness and continued to grow more distrustful of Meadows. Hutchinson contracted COVID as well and was in quarantine on election night. She recalls how the Trump administration refused to accept their election defeat, instead manufacturing claims about voter fraud and filing lawsuits that they hoped would overturn the election results. Hutchinson overheard Trump insist to Meadows that people could not know that they lost, since it was “embarrassing.”

Ahead of the January 6 rally, Hutchinson recalls how Meadows and Secret Service contacts revealed that the event could become violent since militias were expected to attend. The author describes her experiences on January 6, recalling how an enraged Trump had tried many times to act against legal advice and join the rioters at the Capitol. Hutchinson was terrified to learn that the rioters had stormed the Capitol and felt guilty about the Trump administration’s complicity in the event. Hutchinson’s final days at work were mired in chaos, and she was eager to leave her office and finally put to rest the fraudulent claims that Trump won the election. Although she disagreed with Trump’s attempt to overturn the election and his actions on January 6, Hutchinson still expected to move to Florida to continue working for him since she felt she could provide stable and realistic advice. She soon learned that Trump had suspected her of leaking information and did not want her to stay on his staff after he moved.

In Chapters 18-21 Hutchinson describes her exhaustion and disillusionment after leaving the White House and her mixed feelings about the January 6 Committee, which served her a subpoena. She struggled to find legal representation since she could not afford a lawyer, and she unsuccessfully begged her dad for financial help. She reluctantly turned to a Trump-aligned lawyer, Stefan Passantino, who instructed her to tell the January 6 Committee as little as possible. She acted on this advice by claiming to not remember various things. She felt guilty for withholding information from the Committee but was scared to publicly betray Trump. She secured another interview with the Committee behind her lawyer’s back and was more forthcoming about her experiences. Ultimately, she decided to break from Trump’s circle completely and found new, pro bono legal representation.

The book’s final chapters focus on Hutchinson telling “The Whole Truth” to the Committee in another interview and live televised testimony. Afterward, she was isolated in a hotel room for days, both relieved about telling the truth and frightened by how it might affect her safety and future. In her Epilogue, Hutchinson recalls meeting Alex Butterfield, who had been an aide for the Nixon administration and testified about his experiences during Watergate. She describes how comforted she was by Butterfield’s support since he became a hero and role model for her during her ordeal.