A missing blue bunny. Scalding hot water. A toddler watching it all.
An array of disturbing details has emerged from the allegations surrounding Rep. Max Miller, the Ohio Republican accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.
Congressman Miller strongly denies the claims, which have come out amid a bitter custody dispute. But he’s facing growing pressure to suspend his reelection campaign, including from members of his own party. Mr. Miller’s former father-in-law, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, has called for Mr. Miller’s resignation. Ohio’s other Republican senator, Jon Husted, did the same on Thursday.
Why We Wrote This
Lawmakers or candidates in both parties have faced allegations of sexual misconduct or domestic abuse. Some peers of Ohio’s Max Miller have called for him to resign his House seat.
The controversy fits a wider pattern this year in which members of Congress, in both parties, have faced allegations of personal misconduct. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas both resigned in April while facing House Ethics Committee investigations. Last month, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner suspended his campaign after he was accused of previous sexual misconduct.
On Aug. 5, following a recommendation by the Ethics Committee that Rep. Chuck Edwards be censured for inappropriate behavior toward two young female staffers, the North Carolina Republican announced he would retire at the end of his term.
Allegations of impropriety aren’t automatic career-enders, but each instance raises questions about where lines of accountability get drawn. The #MeToo era has faded from the forefront of public discussion, and patterns of sexual misconduct persist, but the campaign left in its wake efforts to boost accountability in some realms of politics.
“These moments are fueling a movement,” says Emma Davidson Tribbs, founding director of the National Women’s Defense League. “It’s a newer movement, but we have been making progress since #MeToo.”
The Republican response to the Miller scandal comes within a stark political context: The party is defending a slim House majority amid high voter disapproval of President Donald Trump, the Iran war, and the cost of living. Not only could the turmoil add a new pickup target for Democrats in what should be a relatively safe Republican district, but the allegations threaten to undermine the GOP’s self-professed pro-family image.
“Republicans are the party of faith, family, and life,” writes Mehek Cooke, an Ohio Republican analyst, in an email to the Monitor. “We cannot campaign on those values and abandon them when accountability becomes uncomfortable.”
Mr. Miller is almost certainly facing greater pressure to step down behind the scenes. Axios reported on Aug. 3 that President Trump had called him and said things “weren’t looking good.”
Publicly, however, Mr. Trump has maintained a more supportive tone. “I hope he’s able to work it out. I feel badly for him,” the president told reporters on Aug. 5. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that, while the allegations were “serious,” he believed it was important to let the process play out.
Mr. Trump has also faced allegations of sexual misconduct – and recently made a $5 million payment to E. Jean Carroll over sexual abuse and defamation. He has denied wrongdoing but was unable to overturn a civil verdict against him.
A Trump staffer and ally
Mr. Miller was a staffer in Mr. Trump’s first administration before he entered Congress, where he has been a Trump ally. He and Ms. Moreno married in 2022 at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Ms. Moreno’s father, Senator Moreno, is also a close ally of the president. Senator Moreno had refrained from talking publicly about the allegations against his former son-in-law, but recently broke his silence, saying Mr. Miller’s behavior made him unfit for public office.
“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” Mr. Moreno wrote on X on Aug. 2.
“Not one of these allegations has ever been substantiated by any court or any agency,” said Mr. Miller in a video he posted to X on the same day. “If these accusations were true, I would be in jail.”
Mr. Trump handily won the presidential vote in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, which stretches from the southeastern edge of Cleveland down toward Columbus. But Mr. Miller’s Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter, has been gaining traction in recent weeks. Polling conducted by a Republican firm and shared with the outlet NOTUS found Mr. Poindexter leading Mr. Miller by 5 points, just outside the margin of error.
“Miller should have already dropped out,” Republican strategist Doug Heye told the Monitor by text. “The longer he stays in the race, the more damage he does to his family and the more he makes it harder for Republicans to campaign on issues they want to push.”
In court filings, Ms. Moreno accused Mr. Miller of scalding her with hot water and pointing a gun at her head. She said that, given Mr. Miller’s alleged violent behavior, she could not rule out that he caused their toddler’s fractured collarbone. Ms. Moreno recently filed for a restraining order against Mr. Miller.
Mr. Miller also faces accusations of physical violence from Mr. Trump’s former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham. The two dated while both worked in the first Trump administration. After Mr. Miller sued for defamation, they reached a confidential settlement, though Ms. Grisham has since sued him for breaking the terms of the settlement. On Aug. 3, Ms. Grisham’s attorney said she had filed a temporary restraining order against the congressman. A third woman has accused Mr. Miller of pushing her down the stairs while they were in high school.
Most recently, a flurry erupted over a stuffed blue bunny belonging to Ms. Moreno and Mr. Miller’s 2-year-old daughter, which Senator Moreno said Mr. Miller had refused to return. Reporting from Mother Jones includes text messages involving at least five people, including the Morenos and Mr. Miller, negotiating the return of the toy.
Request for Ethics Committee role
Following a 20-minute livestream in which he maintained his innocence and said he was releasing a trove of documents as proof, Mr. Miller wrote on X on Aug. 4 that he was requesting an ethics investigation into himself “to clear my name.” The House Ethics Committee said it was reviewing allegations that Mr. Miller engaged in domestic violence and illegal drug use.
The documentation Mr. Miller released included a transcript of Mr. Miller telling Ms. Moreno he was injecting himself with testosterone, something he repeated during a CNN interview. Separately, Ms. Moreno told Mr. Miller she had found needles by his bed and believed he had a drug problem, which he refuted.
During the same interview, Mr. Miller said he had last taken illegal drugs “several years” ago.
After Senator Moreno publicly denounced Mr. Miller’s actions, a handful of Republican colleagues joined him in calling for Mr. Miller to resign, including Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Tim Sheehy of Montana.
Real pressure would come if Mr. Trump were to withdraw his endorsement, says Paul Beck, professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University. In his view, that becomes more likely if Mr. Miller’s polling numbers continue to drop. “If it looks like Miller is going to lose, Trump is usually pretty quick to bail on people that he’s endorsed,” he says.
If Mr. Miller drops out of the race by Aug. 10, local Republican leaders can choose a replacement candidate.
Whether or not the allegations against Mr. Miller are found to be true, he has demonstrated a disqualifying lack of judgment in his public conduct, says Ms. Mehek, the Ohio Republican analyst.
“When a candidate becomes the story for the wrong reasons, it suppresses enthusiasm and shifts attention away from the issues that drive turnout,” she says.