Trump would fire Howard Lutnick if he saw video of his Epstein testimony, say House oversight committee Democrats – live Ro Khanna criticizes commerce secretary after closed-door interview about ties to Jeffrey Epstein as Democrats call performance ‘embarrassing’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email It’s worth noting, ahead of Howard Lutnick’s closed-door testimony before House oversight committee members today, that the commerce secretary has refused to answer questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein from lawmakers during congressional hearings on Capitol Hill over the last month. In April, Represenative Madeleine Dean , a Democrat from Pennsylvania, asked whether the president expressed “concerns” about the commerce secretary’s relationship with Epstein. Lutnick refused to comment .