The White House Is Shrugging At Lutnick’s Epstein Ties. His Foes Are Too.

Howard Lutnick has a lot of enemies in and around the Trump administration. But even the Commerce secretary’s fiercest foes are greeting new revelations about the extent of his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with a collective shrug.

They surmise it would be a waste of time to use his Epstein association to discredit him since President Donald Trump has so publicly dismissed the Epstein files controversy, which he has long called a “witch hunt.” The president, who insists he broke off contact with Epstein decades ago, is mentioned many times in the files.

“Oh, I think knives are out [for Lutnick]. He’s despised by nearly everyone,” said one person close to the White House, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the dynamic. “I doubt Trump would easily push him out, though. The president doesn’t wanna legitimize the Epstein issue too much.”

The sentiment is the latest example of how little weight association with Epstein carries for high-profile figures in the Trump administration compared with officials in education, law and foreign governments.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting to keep his job following the revelations about former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson’s ties to Epstein; Norway has been roiled by the apparently warm relationship between Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein; and the World Economic Forum is investigating its president and CEO Borge Brende over his ties.

Mandelson has maintained that he did nothing criminal. The crown princess has apologized for the messages between her and Epstein, which she said do not “represent the person I want to be.” Brende has said he was “completely unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities” and would have declined any invitations or communications had he known.

But in the U.S. government, the consequences for a relationship with Epstein are few and far between.

A second person familiar with the administration’s thinking shrugged off the details that have surfaced about Lutnick as relatively minor, saying that there is a “‘just post through it’ group mentality” in the administration.

“If Trump saw value in dumping Howard and ending the Epstein noise, he’d do it. We’re just not there yet,” said a third person, a former Trump campaign official.

Despite Lutnick’s insistence that his relationship with Epstein ended in 2005, the files show a longer, though still superficial, relationship between the two. Lutnick and his family had lunch on Epstein’s private island in 2012. The two men, who were neighbors, corresponded about real estate in their building. And Epstein’s lawyer in 2013 obtained the resume of Lutnick’s nanny and forwarded it to Epstein.

During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, Lutnick confirmed that he took his family for lunch at Epstein’s Caribbean island, noting that he went with his wife, kids, nanny and another family. He said he also met with Epstein a second time for an hour.

"I didn't look through the documents with any fear whatsoever because I know, and my wife knows, that I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard,” Lutnick said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Lutnick remains an important member of Trump’s team and “the president fully supports the secretary.”

The White House, asked for comment, referred back to Leavitt’s remarks. The Commerce Department declined to comment.

Even Senate Democrats on Tuesday spent more time grilling Lutnick on policy than on his ties to Epstein.

When Democrats brought up the Epstein files, they accused Lutnick of misleading the public about the extent of his relationship with Epstein, with some taking pains to note that Lutnick has not been accused of wrongdoing.

“It troubles me that you took your family to lunch on his island, that you had appointments with him,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). “Please, disclose everything. Put this to rest, because this is an issue of grave concern to my constituents. President Trump ran on releasing the Epstein files.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill have mostly skirted the controversy. None of the Republicans on the Appropriations subcommittee asked Lutnick directly about his ties to Epstein, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) simply said Lutnick will need to be transparent about his involvement.

One senior Republican lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly, pointed to the mild reaction from Democrats as a sign that neither party is seriously pushing for Lutnick to resign.

“There's a lot of unease with him and the way he does his job. So, I just think there's not a lot of sympathy for him,” the lawmaker said. “But I don't seem to think there is anything here that is threatening to his job or a demand for his resignation. By either party.”

Still, some Democrats, including Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), have called for Lutnick’s resignation.

“He said last year that he had not had contact after 2005, and it’s now clear that there were multiple — eight by my count,” Merkley said. “The fact that he maintained contact with someone who is so involved in such horrific, abusive behavior is a moral failure.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he wishes there were fewer redactions in the files and that he believes any additional documents should be made public. But when asked about whether there should be more accountability for people named in the files, he said that is up to the public.

“There is a second shoe of accountability and that’s answering questions,” Hawley said. “And I'm sure he'd be happy to.”

Lutnick said as much.

“I have nothing to hide,” Lutnick said. “Absolutely nothing.”

Calen Razor contributed to this report.