Howard Lutnick forced to face Jeffrey Epstein ties during House Oversight hearing
The Commerce secretary claimed he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 but later admitted to a 2012 lunch on Epstein's Caribbean island
By Adam Pack Fox News
Published May 6, 2026 6:00am EDT
The House Oversight Committee’s probe into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is turning focus to another high-profile Trump administration figure this week.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is voluntarily appearing before the congressional panel on Wednesday for a transcribed interview regarding his prior relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.
Lutnick’s agreement to speak to the committee came after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., pledged to force a vote to subpoena his testimony.
It is unclear how many lawmakers will attend, as the House of Representatives is in a district work period, also known as recess, this week. Still, Lutnick could face a grilling from House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and other Democrats who have accused him of hiding the full scope of his past ties to Epstein.
"The secretary looks forward to addressing any questions on the record when he testifies voluntarily before the Oversight Committee," a Department of Commerce spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "He looks forward to putting to rest the inaccurate and baseless claims in the media designed to distract from his historic work underway at the Commerce Department."
Lutnick, a billionaire businessman and former CEO of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, said during an interview with the New York Post last year that he broke off ties with Epstein in 2005. The two were formerly next-door neighbors in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood — their townhomes shared a wall.
However, the Commerce secretary conceded in a Senate hearing in February that he and his family had a brief lunch with Epstein in 2012 at his private Caribbean island after files dropped showing their contact continued beyond 2005.
"We left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife. All together. We were on a family vacation," Lutnick told lawmakers. "I don’t recall why we did it, but we did."
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