Nancy Mace lands blow on Trump official over Epstein revelation: ‘I wouldn’t have lunch with a pedophile’

Nancy Mace, the Republican firebrand from South Carolina, landed a harsh rebuke on U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick after he admitted having lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on the disgraced financier’s island in 2012.

On Tuesday, Lutnick told the Senate Appropriations Committee, "We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour", prompting calls for him to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Speaking in an interview with NewsNation host Katie Pavlich afterwards, Mace said she was glad Lutnick had disclosed the meeting under oath during his Senate testimony this week, but criticized his decision to meet with Epstein after the disgraced financier's 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.

"It is not criminal, I mean that is the truth, and I’m glad that he told the truth under oath today," she said.

But she added, "As a mom, I wouldn’t sit and have lunch with a convicted pedophile. I don’t think that’s something that I would personally do, but that’s my personal choice."

Her condemnation puts further pressure on the Trump administration – spelling out the extent to which public figures considered it acceptable to associate with Epstein after his conviction. Trump has already said he will stand by Lutnick.

When asked whether Lutnick should resign, Mace said she did not believe the admission alone warranted his removal. “I wouldn’t go that far," she said. "I’ve not seen any evidence that he did anything wrong. You shouldn’t just be fired because of who you had lunch with.

She added: "But I do question people who weren’t straightforward, who weren’t honest right away with the American public, and what are we hiding?”

Mace added that the newly released documents contained names she had not expected to see. “I saw some names in there of people that I had no idea would be in the files, who were scheduling lunch or meetings with a convicted pedophile. Didn’t do anything wrong, but certainly you question, ‘Wow, why are all these people, rich and powerful and famous, Hollywood etc, doing this?'”

She emphasized that her focus remained on holding those who committed crimes accountable. “My priority is justice for the victims,” she said. “That does not include Howard Lutnick, and it does not include President Trump.”

Lutnick, like several figures who served in the Trump administration, had known Epstein for years. Although he previously said he avoided Epstein after what he described as a disturbing encounter in 2005, the recent release of the files revealed that he misled the public about the extent of his ties to the convicted pedophile sex trafficker and that he continued to have contact with him.

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters Tuesday that Lutnick “remains a very important member” of the Trump administration. She said the president, who had previously been friendly with Epstein, “fully supports” Lutnick.