Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio is unsure whether Rep. Max Miller should stay on the ballot in his House district after Miller was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife — who is also the senator’s daughter.
“I don’t know,” Moreno told NOTUS when asked if Republicans should replace Miller on the ticket.
Republicans, including Moreno, have said little about the allegations against Miller, even as Miller’s reelection race grows tighter. His seat in Ohio is one of many that could determine which party controls the House next year. On Thursday, Sabato’s Crystal Ball downgraded his seat from “likely Republican” to “leans Republican.”
“While we won’t dignify this baseless attacks by Democrats and their media allies, Senator Moreno will not speak on active litigation involving his family,” Reagan McCarthy, a spokesperson for Moreno, told NOTUS in a statement.
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Other Republicans have also largely held back from admonishing Miller. When asked on Thursday why he has allowed Miller to stay in the House Republican conference, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, “The key word there is ‘allegation,’” and added that there’s an investigative process that would need to play out before a member of Congress is removed.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, told an ABC station in Ohio on Wednesday that the allegations are “serious and certainly troubling,” but added that “the people of his district are going to have to weigh the facts. They’re the ones who decide who they want to represent them.”
Miller has held the seat since 2023 and ran uncontested in May’s primary election. He was a political aide to President Donald Trump during his first term.
Trump endorsed Miller in his first run, when he launched a primary against Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who voted to impeach the president. He once again gave Miller his “complete and total endorsement” for his reelection in May, adding that the representative “WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” in a Truth Social post.
A source familiar with the matter told NOTUS that the president has no plans to withdraw his endorsement of Miller in light of the allegations of domestic violence and child abuse.
The deadline for Miller to drop out and be replaced through a special election is August 5.
Miller did not respond to a request for comment.
Emily Moreno, the senator’s daughter, has alleged that Miller abused her and their daughter in court filings and police records obtained by Mother Jones. The couple filed for divorce in 2024, and on Thursday, her lawyers reportedly filed for a new restraining order against her ex-husband.
The New York Times reported that in legal filings Emily Moreno had previously accused Miller of burning her by throwing hot water on her body, holding a gun to her head, pushing her hard enough to cause an injury and breaking their daughter’s collarbone.
Miller has denied these accusations and called Emily Moreno a woman who “isn’t all there.” Miller has sued Moreno for defamation.
The restraining order requested by Emily Moreno’s lawyers on Thursday alleges that Miller “harassed, threatened, and communicated directly” with Moreno’s attorneys and “placed his hands” on one of her lawyers.
Some of the allegations that Miller faces go back to his time in the first Trump administration. Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary who dated Miller, published an op-ed in 2021 alleging an abusive relationship with a former boyfriend, whom she identified as a White House staffer and someone Trump endorsed for a bid in Congress after she warned the president about the abuse. Miller filed a defamation suit against Grisham in 2021, even though Grisham had avoided including his name.
The matter ended in a settlement in 2023, but Grisham filed a lawsuit against Miller in early July after he spoke about her in several interviews, saying the public comments violated a nondisclosure agreement he had signed as part of the settlement.
This November, Miller is running against Brian Poindexter, a Democrat and former union ironworker who’s juxtaposing his blue-collar background against Miller’s wealthy upbringing. When Miller ran for reelection in 2024 — in a district that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump — he won with only 51% of the vote.
In Congress, the Democratic Women’s Caucus is calling for the House Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations against Miller.
“Allegations of violence against women and children have to be met with the utmost seriousness,” its members said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated when Miller would need to drop out of his reelection campaign to prompt a special primary election. That deadline is August 5.
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