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Trump’s Commerce Chief Howard Lutnick to Face Epstein Grilling in Closed-Door Interview

Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will undergo a closed-door transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee to address his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a 2012 trip to Epstein's private island that contradicted his earlier claim of severing ties in 2005; the interview was arranged after bipartisan pressure from committee members. The live blog also covers other notable US political developments: Trump-backed challengers won most Indiana state senate primaries, Ohio's Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown and Republican nominee Jon Husted secured their spots for a high-profile November Senate race, Senate Republicans proposed an immigration funding package including $1bn for security linked to Trump's East Wing modernization project, Senator Marco Rubio commented on rising US fuel prices amid the US-Israel war on Iran, and California's leading gubernatorial candidates debated as ballots are already in the mail.