Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is stepping down from his teaching posts at Harvard University as renewed scrutiny intensifies over his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Harvard announced that Summers will resign from his faculty positions at the end of the academic year and relinquish his University Professorship, the institution’s highest academic honor. According to the Harvard Crimson, Summers described the decision as “difficult” but did not publicly cite a specific reason for stepping down.
The timing of his departure coincides with heightened attention following the release of Justice Department documents by House lawmakers that shed additional light on Epstein’s network and associates. Among the materials were emails indicating that Summers remained in contact with Epstein up until Epstein’s 2019 arrest — years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges related to soliciting minors.
The correspondence reportedly referenced political matters and personal relationships. Lawmakers highlighted one email in which Summers asked Epstein for advice about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he had previously described as a mentee.
“I dint [sic] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits,” Summers wrote in one exchange. Epstein responded at one point that he was a “pretty good wing man.”
Among the emails highlighted by lawmakers was one in where Summers asked Epstein for advice on “getting horizontal” with a woman that he had earlier described as a mentee.
The disclosures have reignited questions about the judgment of prominent political and academic figures who maintained contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction.
Previously disclosed flight logs and travel records show that Summers and his wife, Lisa New, visited Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, in December 2005. At the time, Summers was serving as president of Harvard. The trip occurred shortly after their wedding.
A spokesperson for Summers has previously defended the visit, stating that the couple spent their honeymoon in St. John and Jamaica and made only a brief stop — less than a day — on Epstein’s island. The spokesperson also emphasized that the trip took place before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006 and subsequent conviction in 2008.
Still, Palm Beach police had begun investigating Epstein months before the 2005 visit, a detail that has drawn renewed scrutiny.
Harvard confirmed to The New York Times that Summers’ resignation is “in connection with the ongoing review by the University of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were recently released by the government,” according to spokesman Jason Newton.
Summers has been on leave from Harvard since November. During that period, he has not taught classes or taken on new students for advisement. The university stated that arrangement will continue until his resignation becomes effective.
Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton, has long been a prominent figure in Democratic politics and economic policymaking. Beyond his Cabinet role, he previously served as director of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama and has remained an influential voice on fiscal and monetary policy debates.
His ties to Epstein have been examined before. In 2021, reports indicated that Epstein had donated to Harvard and that Summers met with Epstein multiple times after Epstein’s conviction. Summers later expressed regret for maintaining contact, saying he deeply regretted the association and acknowledging that he had “underestimated” the damage caused by Epstein’s actions.
The renewed attention follows broader congressional efforts to review Epstein-related records and associations across political, academic, and business circles. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Summers has not issued a detailed public statement addressing the newly released emails. Harvard has said it will continue reviewing the documents in coordination with its internal processes.
With his departure, one of the Democratic Party’s most influential economic thinkers exits formal academic life under a cloud of revived questions — even as the broader reckoning over Epstein’s associations continues to unfold.
