Commerce Secretary Lutnick shuts down Epstein questions at hearing
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly sidestepped questions about his past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a budget hearing Thursday.
He refused to address the inconsistencies in his statements and insisted that the setting was “not” the place to discuss them as he appeared before the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the budget.
Lutnick changed his mind after Rep. Grace Meng, D-Y., pressed him about why he claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2005 despite evidence that they remained in touch years later, amid growing calls for Epstein to be removed from the Trump administration.
COMER SAID TRUMP TRADE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK WILL BE ON DUTY FOR THE EPSTEIN PROBE HOUSE
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testifies at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on the Department of Commerce 2027 budget request on April 22, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The conflict underscores the intensifying scrutiny of Lutnick’s past relationship with Epstein and raises new questions about the consistency of his account as lawmakers weigh Commerce Department oversight and demand greater transparency from senior officials connected to the late financier’s network.
During the hearing, Meng noted reports that Lutnick visited Epstein’s private island in 2012 and exchanged business emails as recently as 2018.
He asked why Lutnick had previously said he was never “in the same room” with Epstein after 2005.
Lutnick did not answer her questions, instead saying he agreed to address “any questions” in a separate session with lawmakers in the coming weeks. “I’m here today to testify on the budget,” he said, repeating that he had “nothing to hide.”
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The documents included in the US Department of Justice’s disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein files were photographed on January 2, 2024. (Jon Elswick/AP)
The same situation occurred later in the hearing with Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa. He continued to confront Lutnick more forcefully, accusing him of lying about the extent of his relationship with Epstein and pressuring him about past business ties.
“Why did you lie about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?” He pressed the trade minister by urging him to respond publicly rather than behind closed doors.
Lutnick once again refused to participate, signaling that he would appear before another committee in the future and refusing to respond directly. Before Dean could raise the possibility that President Donald Trump could remove him from office, he interrupted her by saying, “For the record, you’re dodging the question. The cover-up continues.”
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Howard Lutnick joined the second Trump administration in 2025 after co-chairing Trump’s transition team. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lutnick sought to downplay his past relationship with Epstein amid pressure from the public for the sex offender’s friends to come forward.
The two lived next to each other in New York, but Lutnick told Congress he had “almost nothing to do with this person.”
The Trump administration has so far rejected calls for his resignation as questions about his past ties continue to mount, and Lutnick is expected to be questioned more directly by lawmakers in May.
