Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick found himself at the center of a political firestorm this week after admitting, under oath, that he and his family had lunch on the private island of Jeffrey Epstein in 2012. The revelation came during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on February 10, 2026, as lawmakers from both parties pressed Lutnick to clarify the nature and extent of his relationship with the notorious financier and convicted sex offender.
Lutnick, a prominent figure in the Trump administration and former chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, told senators that the lunch occurred while he was on a family vacation. "My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies," he testified, according to CNBC. "I had another couple with — they were there as well, with their children. And we had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour. And we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife, all together. We were on family vacation."
This admission came after the Department of Justice released a new batch of Epstein files, which showed that Lutnick and Epstein were in contact years after Lutnick previously claimed he had severed ties. The documents revealed that Epstein invited Lutnick to lunch on his private island in December 2012 and that the two had business dealings as recently as 2014. One email, cited by CBS News, indicated that Epstein had drinks planned with Lutnick in May 2011 at 5 p.m.
Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, remains a figure whose associations continue to reverberate through the political world. The release of the files has already led to political fallout in Europe, and now, scrutiny in the United States has turned toward Lutnick.
At the hearing, Lutnick insisted that his contact with Epstein was minimal and denied any wrongdoing. "I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?" he said, as reported by Politico. He further explained to lawmakers, "I met Jeffrey Epstein when he moved, when I moved to a house next door to him in New York. Over the next 14 years, I met him two other times that I can recall, two times. So six years later, I met him, and then a year and a half after that, I met him, and never again."
Lutnick emphasized that, over a 14-year period, there may have been only ten emails connecting him with Epstein. "Probably the total — and you've seen all of these documents, of these millions and millions of documents — there may be 10 emails connecting me with him. ... Over a 14-year period," he said. "I have nothing to hide. Absolutely nothing."
Despite these denials, senators pressed Lutnick about inconsistencies between his past statements and the new evidence. Senator Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, was particularly pointed in his questioning. "The issue is not that you engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, but that you totally misrepresented the extent of your relationship with him to the Congress, to the American people, and to the survivors of his despicable criminal and predatory acts," Van Hollen said, according to Politico and CNBC. He added, "The files show that you had interactions with Epstein over the next 13 years, including long after he was convicted in 2008 of soliciting the prostitution of a minor."
Lutnick, for his part, said he looked through the millions of documents for any mention of his name. "I looked through the millions of documents for my name, just like everybody else. And what I found was there was a document that says that I had a meeting with him, in May, I think, for an hour, at 5 o’clock," he explained during the hearing.
Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., highlighted the apparent contradiction between Lutnick's 2025 public statements and the evidence. Referring to Lutnick's 2012 visit to Epstein’s island, Merkley said, "You were planning a trip to the private island with your family. That sounds like somebody you know well enough to call up and say, ‘Let’s get our families together, let’s visit each other.’" Merkley also pointed out that Justice Department documents indicated eight instances of interaction between Lutnick and Epstein after 2005, despite Lutnick's earlier claims that he had cut off all contact.
Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., pressed Lutnick further on the issue of transparency. "You said casually, 'Oh I looked at my name and how it appeared in them, as does everyone.' No. Everyone isn’t worried about their names being in the Epstein files," Coons said. He urged Lutnick to "disclose everything that is relevant here." Lutnick responded that he would consider sharing his own records relating to Epstein with Congress, saying, "I will surely talk about that. Hadn't thought about that. I have nothing to hide. Absolutely nothing."
While no evidence has emerged suggesting Lutnick engaged in criminal conduct with Epstein, the controversy has sparked bipartisan calls for his resignation. Representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who helped author the bill to release the Justice Department's Epstein files, has joined Democrats like Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif., in calling for Lutnick to step down. Schiff stated, "The commerce secretary lied to Americans about his connection to Epstein." Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voiced concerns about the credibility of officials who previously denied knowing Epstein or visiting his properties, only for evidence to surface to the contrary.
The White House, however, has stood by Lutnick. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, "Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary." White House spokesman Kush Desai echoed this support, stating, "President Trump has assembled the best and most transformative Cabinet in modern history. The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people." When asked about the Epstein files by a reporter, President Trump replied, "I didn’t … I’m sure they’re fine. Otherwise, there would have been major headlines."
During the hearing, Lutnick described his first unsettling encounter with Epstein in New York. On a 2025 podcast, he recounted touring Epstein’s home with his wife and seeing a massage table surrounded by candles. Lutnick said he asked Epstein about it, and Epstein responded with sexual innuendo, prompting Lutnick and his wife to leave immediately. "And in the six to eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again," Lutnick said on the podcast. "I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going 'cause he’s gross. So I look back at it as a gift. He gave me a gift."
Despite these explanations, the controversy is unlikely to fade soon. Lawmakers continue to demand transparency not just from Lutnick, but from all public figures whose names appear in connection with Epstein. As Senator John Thune, R-S.D., put it, "Transparency is something we all ought to aspire to here and if there are folks who are named in there, or discussed in there in some way, they are going to have to answer to that."
As the political fallout continues, one thing is clear: the shadow cast by Epstein’s crimes and connections remains long, and those caught in its reach face tough questions about judgment, transparency, and public trust.