GOP senators view Lutnick's contacts with Epstein as political liability
Source: The Hill
02/15/26 6:00 AM ET
Republican senators are worried that revelations around Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could balloon into a bigger political liability for the GOP heading into this year’s midterm elections.
Lutnick is viewed on Capitol Hill as one of President Trump’s most influential economic advisers, and Republican senators have generally been impressed by his ability to strike trade deals to soften the economic impact of the sweeping global tariffs Trump announced last year on “liberation day.”
But Lutnick’s admission before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that he visited Epstein’s island for a lunch date in December 2012, contradicting his previous claim that he had cut off all contact with Epstein after meeting him in 2005, has GOP lawmakers worried that the Epstein scandal will continue to reverberate through November. “Super bad,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of Lutnick’s reversal of his earlier claim that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005.
“Let’s just do the timeline. He’s recorded as saying he eliminated all ties. What’s disturbing to me is that’s obviously been proven materially wrong or incorrect. But he’s scheduling a lunch on a notorious island from his yacht with somebody who he said he cut all ties with,” Tillis said. “And this is after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. It stinks. “This is just rotten,” he added.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5738208-republican-senators-lutnick-epstein/
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