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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly shut down questions about his past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a budget hearing Thursday.
He refused to address discrepancies in his statements and insisted the setting was “not” the place to discuss them because he was appearing before the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the budget.
Lutnick deflected as Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., pressed him on why he claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2005 despite evidence they remained in touch for years afterward, amid mounting calls for his removal from the Trump administration.
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Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testifies during a during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on the Commerce Department 2027 budget request in Washington, DC on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The clash underscores intensifying scrutiny over Lutnick’s past relationship with Epstein and raises fresh questions about the consistency of his account, as lawmakers weigh oversight of the Commerce Department and demand greater transparency from senior officials tied to the late financier’s network.
During the hearing, Meng pointed to reports that Lutnick visited Epstein’s private island in 2012 and exchanged business emails as recently as 2018.
She asked why Lutnick had previously said he was never “in a room” with Epstein after 2005.
Lutnick did not answer her inquiries, instead saying he had agreed to address “any and all questions” in a separate session with lawmakers in the coming weeks. “Today I am here to testify about the budget,” he said, repeating that he had “nothing to hide.”
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Documents included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed on Jan. 2, 2024. (Jon Elswick/AP)
The same pattern played out later in the hearing when Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., confronted Lutnick more forcefully, accusing him of lying about the extent of his relationship with Epstein and pressing him on past business ties.
“Why did you lie about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?” she pressed, urging the Commerce secretary to respond publicly rather than in a closed-door setting.
Lutnick again declined to engage, pointing to a future appearance before another committee and refusing to answer directly. Dean cut him off, saying, “Let the record reflect—you’re dodging the question. The cover-up continues,” before raising the possibility that President Donald Trump could remove him from his post.
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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 has sought to downplay his past relationship with Epstein amid pressure from the public for the late sex offender’s associates to be revealed.
The two lived next door to each other in New York, but Lutnick told Congress he “barely had anything to do with that person.”
The Trump administration has so far dismissed calls for his resignation, even as questions about his past ties continue to mount, and Lutnick is expected to face more direct questioning from lawmakers in May.
