A growing number of Republicans are calling on Rep. Max Miller to resign and drop his re-election campaign following abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.
Miller, R-Ohio, has denied the allegations, which exploded onto the national stage after he addressed them on a livestream Sunday, prompting Moreno’s father, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, to denounce him publicly.
Miller has repeatedly vowed to keep running for re-election, even as the senator said in a weekend statement that Miller “is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.”
A spokesperson for the office of Ohio’s secretary of state told NBC News that the deadline to replace a candidate would be Monday. The replacement candidate would be selected by county party chairs in the district.
Emily Moreno has accused Miller of holding a gun to her head, throwing her against a wall and throwing hot water on her, according to court documents released by her lawyer. Miller has not faced criminal charges related to his ex-wife’s allegations and has repeatedly denied the assertions.
Miller has sued Emily Moreno, alleging defamation following a Daily Mail report regarding the alleged abuse. Lawyers for Emily Moreno have moved to dismiss the suit.
Miller on Tuesday voluntarily requested that the House Ethics Committee investigate the domestic abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, adding that he has “absolutely nothing to hide.”
In a livestream Sunday, Miller said his ex-wife’s claims that he physically assaulted her were false and released a trove of documents that he said backed up his assertion.
“Ask yourself: If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?” he said. “Would she have invited me to spend an afternoon at the playground with her and our daughter?”
Emily Moreno’s spokesperson, Stefan Mychajliw, said in a statement that it was “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,” Mychajliw added.
The allegations sparked widespread condemnation from Democrats. Now, an expanding group of Republicans has publicly condemned Miller, with some calling for him to bow out of his re-election bid in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District.
A spokesperson for Miller declined to provide a comment. Miller’s congressional office and legal representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., weighed in Thursday after Moreno accused Miller of holding the senator’s 2-year-old granddaughter’s blue bunny toy “hostage,” which Miller denied.
Miller had released screenshots of communications with multiple people trying to coordinate the return of the bunny to his daughter, who is Sen. Moreno’s granddaughter. In his post explaining the screenshots, Miller said that “a man who is not on our approved list” reached out to try to pick up the bunny. Miller said he responded that “it was inappropriate of him to insert himself in family business and that I was waiting for you, @berniemoreno, like we agreed upon.”
Sheehy referred to the bunny situation in a post condemning Miller.
“What kind of person would treat their daughter this way?” Sheehy said on X. “This guy is clearly a degenerate sociopath. Max should step aside and seek help. Staying in this race makes it far more likely we lose this seat and hand Democrats a majority to impeach President Trump.”
Asked if Miller should step down if the allegations of domestic abuse were true, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, told Nexstar that “any member of Congress who’s involved in domestic abuse should resign.”
Husted said he was “glad” that the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether Miller engaged in domestic violence and abuse or used illegal drugs.
Asked whether he should drop out of the race before the committee completes the investigation, Husted did not give a direct answer.
“We’re going to talk more about what potentially can happen there,” he said. “I know that time frame is short, but if he’s guilty of domestic violence, he’s unfit for public office.”
Later, Husted said on X that “anyone who commits domestic violence is not fit to serve in Congress.” He called on the House Ethics Committee to “thoroughly investigate any credible allegations.”
“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” Husted said later in the statement. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”
On Wednesday, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Semafor that Miller should resign and drop his re-election bid.
“When you watch those [Miller] interviews, if you have ever had anyone in your life that has experienced abuse, they were eerie,” she said, according to the outlet. “But I stand with Bernie and supporting his daughter and his granddaughter, and hope that others will as well.”
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told the outlet MeidasTouch that he condemns “any type of woman abuse.”
Asked whether Miller should resign, Marshall said, “Based upon what I know, yes.”
“Have I heard his side of the story? No, I have not,” he said, referring to Miller. “But I certainly trust Bernie and his family is such a good family, I’ve met quite a few of them, and they have such high values.”
Other Republicans have expressed support for Moreno, who said in a Sunday statement that the past two years have been “hell” for him and his family. Moreno said that “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,” Moreno said on Sunday.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told Politico that she does not know Miller and has not “read a whole lot about him,” but said that if Moreno “thinks he ought to resign, I’m supportive of that.”
Similarly, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said that “it would surprise me if Bernie were being untruthful.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also told Politico that allegations of domestic abuse are “not what we want in our lawmakers.”
If you or someone you know is facing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline for help at (800) 799-SAFE (7233), or go to thehotline.org for more. States often have domestic violence hotlines as well.
