Max Miller, the Republican representative from Ohio, is facing a rising groundswell of resignation calls from his own party over domestic abuse allegations after his ex-father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, a GOP senator, said he was unfit to serve in Congress.
With a deadline looming for party leaders to choose a potential replacement, Miller, a former White House aide, also came under pressure from Donald Trump on Monday after the president reportedly called and told him “things aren’t looking good” for his re-election campaign against Democrat opponent, Brian Poindexter.
Pleas for Miller to step down intensified after Moreno – father of Miller’s former wife, Emily Moreno – broke his silence on Sunday after months of refraining from comment on allegations concerning the alleged abuse of his daughter.
“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” Moreno, an ally of Trump, posted. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
Moreno’s comments came after Miller posted a livestream video defending himself against the abuse accusations and saying his former wife had “significant mental-health challenges”.
A series of public statements from Moreno’s fellow Republican senators indicate that their sympathies are with him.
“[Miller] should resign. He should quit,” Roger Marshall, a senator from Kansas, told Politico. “I don’t know Mr. Miller’s story, but I trust Bernie [Moreno] so much as a good friend, and his family has such high values.”
West Virginia senator Shelley Moore Capito said: “I don’t know [Miller]. I haven’t read a whole lot about him, but if [Moreno] thinks he ought to resign, I’m supportive of that.”
Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, said: “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.
“And certainly, when it comes to allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, that’s not what we want in our lawmakers.”
Three other senators, Rick Scott of Florida, the West Virginian senator Jim Justice, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, also gave public backing to Moreno against Miller.
“I don’t know enough about the allegations, but like Bernie said, it sounds like he thinks he needs psychological help,” said Scott, “I trust Bernie.”
Miller – who married Emily Moreno at Trump’s club in Bedminster, New Jersey in ۲۰۲۲ – has been accused of holding a gun to her head and scalding her with boiling water. Their toddler daughter, who was born in ۲۰۲۳ is also said to have suffered a broken collar bone due to his actions.
Miller denies allegations of abuse and has filed a defamation case against his wife over the claims. The couple divorced in ۲۰۲۵.
Axios reported that Trump called Miller on Monday amid concerns that the situation threatened Republican chances of holding the congressional seat in November’s midterms, when the party already faces an uphill challenge to keep its wafer-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
But the president avoided taking sides when asked about the issue by reporters in the White House. “I know Max, he’s a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person. And I’m going to let the families figure that out,” he said.
Miller has resisted calls for him to withdraw from the race and told the Wall Street Journal that Trump “was supportive of me over the phone” on Monday’s call.
“He said he had a poll with no detail, and I pushed back with our poll that has us winning by ۹ with our message out there,” Miller told the newspaper. “He kept on reiterating it’s going to be tough, and it’s going to be a really hard one for you.”
If Miller were to remove his name from the ballot before the close of business on Tuesday, a special Republican primary would be held to replace him.
If he were to withdraw after that, the party would still need to replace him by ۱۰ August, but would need to give two days notice beforehand to hold a meeting to choose a substitute candidate.
