Mick Mulvaney, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a Friday interview that a "friend" in the White House remarked that then-Trump chief of staff MarkMeadows was having a "nervous breakdown" as the chaos unfolded.

During an interview with CBS News, Mulvaney expressed confidence in the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, the ex-Meadows aide who gave a bombshell testimony to the House committee.

During Hutchinson's testimony before the committee, she claimed that Donald Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV while demanding to be taken to the Capitol.

"I said, 'If I listen to Cassidy closely, it sounds like Mark was either completely incompetent at the job or was having a nervous breakdown,' and the person texting back it was, 'A little bit of both,'" Mulvaney said during the interview,"

The impression you get is that things had broken down and the chief of staff had left.

During her June testimony, Hutchinson spoke of the exasperation she felt when the Capitol was being raided.

She said that she felt like she was looking at a bad car accident where she couldn't stop it but she wanted to be able to do something. I don't know how to get Mark out of this but I think he needs to care.

During an interview with CBS, Mulvaney said that it appeared as though the situation at the Capitol was not being handled well.

I asked if Mark was having a nervous breakdown or if he was incompetent to respond. A lot of the breakdown in the West Wing was explained by that.

Mick Mulvaney
Former Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Images

Mulvaney talked about Hutchinson's testimony before the panel when he was asked what his tipping point was.

He said that he had defended the president over the course of the last year over his actions on January 6. I didn't think he inciting a riot. When we needed him to be the president, he didn't do it.

I defended him until Cassidy Hutchinson testified. I have known her for a long time. I need her to work for me. She doesn't have a reason to lie. He said that if she said the president knew there were guns, that would make him scratch his head.

Mulvaney has not been a fan of the January 6 hearings.

They should have allowed the Republicans to put the people on the committee that they should have, that's what I think. Nancy Pelosi excluded them. The history of the United States House of Representatives was violated by that.

I have never been a fan of this committee and I always thought it was wrong for Liz and Adam to be there. I don't believe Liz when she says something. He said that he wouldn't believe he interpretation of the facts.

Speaker Pelosi refused to join the January 6 panel after Jordan objected to the 2020 presidential election results. The committee has been calledillegitimate by an Arizona legislator.

The January 6 committee had only one Republican member.

Mulvaney said that he could not ignore testimony from a fellow Republican.

He said that when a Republican says something about a Republican president trying to overturn an election, he pays attention. All Republicans should look at that when they say that other Republicans may have broken the law. I believe everyone should.

Insider reached out toMeadows