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Republicans Call for Max Miller To Quit As Deadline Looms
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A number of Republican lawmakers have publicly backed Senator Bernie Moreno or expressed concern after he said Representative Max Miller should not continue serving in the House, comments that came days before a Wednesday ballot deadline in Ohio.
Miller, a two-term congressman and former White House aide under President Donald Trump , has been involved in an acrimonious legal dispute with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. He has denied allegations that he abused her or their young daughter. He has not been charged with a crime in connection to the allegations.
Bernie Moreno, who is Emily's father, said Miller "should not serve in the House of Representatives" and accused Miller of "increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior."
Miller responded to Moreno by accusing him of speaking out for political reasons, writing that Moreno would not have waited two years to act if the allegations were true and saying Moreno was trying to "hide from your own media circus."
Miller has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot, which would allow Republicans to hold a rapid replacement primary for his Cleveland-area House seat.
Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Miller via email on Tuesday, outside of regular office hours.
In his Sunday post on X, Bernie Moreno said that the last two years had been "pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily's divorce.
"It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent two-year-old girl is caught in the middle. Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter. Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible."
He added: "If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives. I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does."
Miller wrote in response: "If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable. You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political."
In a statement provided to Newsweek on Monday, Miller said: "I have never [spoken] publicly about Senator Moreno until he made defamatory and false statements about me. I have had several private conversations with him about his daughter’s mental health, and he knows that what she is alleging is not true. I am not concerned with him and his need to churn the rumor mill right now. I am speaking up to set the record straight about my family."
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas has said in media interviews that, based on what he knows about the case, Miller should quit.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia also said, quoted by Politico, that she would support Moreno’s view if he believed Miller should resign, though she noted she had not closely followed the matter.
Other Republicans stopped short of calling for Miller to leave office but voiced concern, according to the outlet.
"The accusations are very serious, and if there is truth to them, I am one who says that our elected officials need to be held to high standards," Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reportedly said. "And certainly, when it comes to allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, that’s not what we want in our lawmakers."
Politico also quoted Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming as saying it would surprise her if Moreno were being untruthful.
Senators Jim Justice of West Virginia and Rick Scott of Florida both said they did not know enough about the allegations, but each expressed confidence in Moreno’s judgment.
However, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, in a Thursday CNN interview which came before Moreno's call for Miller to quit, said the allegations were "a family matter" and that Miller "is a good man."
Jordan added: "I hope he wins reelection. He’s done a good job as a member of Congress, and we should all pray for his family—these are difficult times that they’re going through."
Axios, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Trump called Miller on Monday to express doubts about his candidacy and say that his reelection would be tough. He reportedly told Miller that "things aren't looking good," the outlet said.
Miller appeared in a social media livestream on Sunday strongly denying the allegations of abuse made by his ex-wife and vowed to remain in his reelection campaign, pushing back against mounting scrutiny.
" I've been portrayed as an abusive husband, an abusive father, and a violent man. Those allegations have damaged my reputation, caused enormous pain to my family, and most importantly, it's affected our daughter," the congressman said.
Miller said that "no court" and "no agency" had substantiated any claim of abuse against him, and noted that no criminal charges had been filed.
He also posted a collection of documents "produced by my personal attorneys and paid for by me directly" regarding the abuse allegations and related litigation, inviting the public to review them.
In a statement provided to Newsweek Sunday by her attorney, Emily Moreno’s spokesperson Stefan Mychajliw said: "It is shameful that Max Miller decided to go on a bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career.
"There is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that. It is despicable and abhorrent t...
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