Lutnick donated $5M to House GOP super PAC ahead of Epstein deposition
Lutnick donated $5M to House GOP super PAC ahead of Epstein deposition
Sarah DavisSat, May 23, 2026 at 1:51 PM UTC
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick donated $5 million to a committee backing House Republicans ahead of his testimony to Congress about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.
The Trump administration official made the donation to the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) on April 1, and he testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on May 6 during a closed-door briefing with lawmakers on the panel.
The CLF is the central fundraising arm for House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The April donation, which was disclosed in a Thursday filing, marks Lutnick’s first political donation as secretary. He previously donated $5 million to President Trump’s super PAC during his 2024 campaign.
A spokesperson for the Commerce Department told The Hill that Lutnick made this donation “in his personal capacity, just as many Cabinet Secretaries from both parties have done in the past.”
Lutnick has come under scrutiny for his appearance in several documents released by the Justice Department under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Aside from Trump, he is the highest-ranking official named in these files. Both he and Trump have denied any knowledge of Epstein’s illicit activities.
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The secretary admitted to visiting Epstein’s island with his wife and children in 2012 during testimony to senators in February, despite his previous statements to lawmakers that he had cut off all contact with the convicted sex offender in 2005. He told senators he did not witness any evidence of alleged sex crimes during his visit to the island.
Following his testimony to the House Oversight panel, committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) praised the secretary for being “forthcoming” with information. Comer acknowledged before the hearing that Lutnick had not been “100 percent truthful” about his history with Epstein, referencing the 2012 island visit.
Meanwhile, Democrats emerged from the secretary’s testimony with outrage and called for Lutnick’s resignation.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who co-led the bipartisan effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, characterized Lutnick’s testimony as “contortions and lies.”
“If you saw the exchanges that my colleagues had with him, you would see he made a farce of the English language,” the lawmaker said.
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