By Sam Barron | Friday, February 27, 2026 at 4:46 p.m. EST
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced they have sufficient votes to compel Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center before members of the committee prepared to question former President Bill Clinton regarding his ties to New York financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also stated she would like to see Lutnick testify as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein.
“Howard Lutnick should take questions from the Oversight committee,” Mace wrote on social media in response to a post claiming the Department of Justice removed a photo from its files showing Epstein standing next to someone who “appears to be Howard Lutnick.”
The photo has since been restored to the DOJ’s database, though it is unknown when it was taken.
Lutnick was a longtime neighbor of Epstein in New York City but said on a podcast that he severed ties with Epstein following a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed him and his wife. Public records indicate Lutnick had two documented interactions with Epstein years later: He attended an event at Epstein’s home in 2011, and his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012.
Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.
House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said Friday the committee will continue to question individuals who appear in photos on Epstein’s island. “We’re going to continue to, you know, ask questions of everyone … that shows up in photos on the island and things like that,” Comer stated at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in New York.
“I think it’ll be interesting what Hillary Clinton said about Howard Lutnick,” Comer remarked.
Mace interjected, “And how she said it.”
Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron has nearly two decades of experience covering politics, crime and business.
