Emails revealed that Summers repeatedly sought advice from Epstein on romantically pursuing a woman he referred to as his mentee.
The Trump administration is calling on companies and organizations to sever ties with Larry Summers in the wake of new revelations about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A senior administration official said institutions should end their association with Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, after emails revealed that he repeatedly sought advice from Epstein on romantically pursuing a woman he referred to as his mentee. Epstein in one message referred to himself as the prominent economist’s “wing man.” Summers in another exchange suggested women in aggregate have a lower IQ than men.
“It’s shocking that Larry Summers remains a paid contributor to Bloomberg News, on the board of OpenAI and tenured at Harvard,” the senior official, granted anonymity to speak freely, told POLITICO. “What more revelations about him and his Wing Man will it take for institutions to cut him loose? The British government immediately sacked their Ambassador to the U.S. over much less.”
Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S., was fired by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer following reports of his ties to Epstein. (Ahead of his removal, Mandelson said he regretted “very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with [Epstein] for far longer than I should have done.”)
Bloomberg declined to comment. OpenAI and Harvard did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Summers did not immediately have a response to the administration’s comment.
Summers said in a statement that he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions.
“I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” he told POLITICO. “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
The statement leaves question marks hanging over the fate of several positions Summers occupies.
Revelations about the nature of Summers’ relationship with Epstein reignited scrutiny of a man who has previously attracted backlash for his rhetoric about women, including a 2005 speech in which he cited a controversial theory that men are more prone to extremely high or low IQs than women. That episode contributed to Summers’ decision to step down as president of Harvard University in 2006.
Summers, who was also previously a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, has remained highly influential — and controversial. He gained widespread attention for his criticisms of a 2021 law passed under President Joe Biden that he said would spur price spikes. Inflation reached its highest levels in four decades in 2022 before cooling.
Summers has previously faced questions about his relationship with Epstein, including in 2023 when the Wall Street Journal reported that he had solicited the financier for money for his wife’s nonprofit in April 2014, after Epstein became a registered sex offender.
At the time, a spokesperson for Summers and his wife said Summers “deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction,” and that his wife’s nonprofit “regrets accepting funding from Epstein.”
The House is expected to vote this week on legislation to force the release of federal files related to Epstein.