GOP Heavyweights Turn On Max Miller As Graphic Abuse Allegations Threaten To Sink a Critical House Seat
Damning allegations.
Max Miller is digging in his heels after a wave of Republicans, including his ex-father-in-law, publicly demanded he resign from Congress over graphic domestic abuse allegations. According to The Guardian, the Ohio representative spent Tuesday, August 4, 2026, deflecting calls to step down, even as the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into claims he engaged in violence and illegal drug use.
Miller’s refusal to exit the race is putting a key GOP House seat in jeopardy just months before the election, with party leaders scrambling to find a replacement before the deadline. Miller’s interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper laid bare his strategy: attack the accusers and lean on his ties to the President. When pressed about allegations from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and two other women – including former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham – Miller didn’t hold back.
“Yes,” he said when asked if they were lying. “Every single time.” He framed the accusations as politically motivated smears, invoking the President’s 2016 campaign as proof resilience pays off. “In 2016, when President [Donald J. Trump] faced the most extreme allegations in the world… he stayed in, and he was resilient,” Miller said. “So for no second am I going to sit here and continue to be debased by false and baseless allegations.”
Bernie Moreno broke his silence over the weekend
The push for Miller to resign gained momentum after Bernie Moreno, his ex-father-in-law and a Republican senator from Ohio, broke his silence over the weekend. Moreno, a Trump ally, posted that Miller “fails” any basic standard of character required for office. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives,” he said.
At a press conference Tuesday, Moreno described the situation as “the seventh level of hell” for his family, revealing he’d personally picked up his granddaughter from a police station to avoid Miller. “I don’t know what this guy’s capable of,” Moreno said. The senator also accused Miller of withholding a beloved stuffed bunny from his toddler daughter, a claim Miller dismissed as false when pressed by Tapper.
Miller’s insistence on staying in the race is creating a headache for GOP leadership, who are now weighing whether to force him out before the deadline to replace him on the ballot. The party has until August 10 to select a replacement. With Democrats eyeing the district – one the President carried by 11 points in 2024 – every day Miller stays in the race risks further damage to Republican chances of holding the seat.
The allegations against Miller are brutal
His ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him of holding a gun to her head, scalding her with boiling water, and causing their toddler daughter’s broken collarbone. Miller has denied all of it, filing a defamation lawsuit against Moreno and calling her claims part of a smear campaign. He’s also locked in a custody battle over their daughter, a fight that’s only intensified the scrutiny.
In a livestream video, Miller suggested Moreno has “significant mental-health challenges,” a claim that drew sharp criticism from her father. “This has been brutal beyond comprehension,” Bernie Moreno said, calling the experience a nightmare for his family.
Miller’s legal troubles don’t end with his ex-wife. According to The Hill, Stephanie Grisham, a former White House communications director, filed a restraining order against him this week as part of an ongoing lawsuit. Grisham first detailed allegations of abuse in a 2021 Washington Post op-ed, though she didn’t name Miller at the time. He sued her for defamation shortly after, but the case was dropped when both sides signed a nondisclosure agreement. The truce didn’t last.
After Miller suggested in a June interview that Grisham’s allegations were timed to promote a book, she revived her legal battle. Her attorney, Mark Zaid, announced the restraining order on X, framing it as a necessary step to protect Grisham from further harassment.
Trump, who once employed Miller as a White House aide, has stayed conspicuously neutral
Asked about the situation at the White House, Trump told reporters, “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.” That noncommittal stance hasn’t stopped Miller from claiming the President’s support.
Republican senators are lining up against Miller, with several echoing Bernie Moreno’s call for his resignation. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who said he trusts Moreno “as a good friend,” said, “[Miller] should resign. He should quit.” West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito admitted she didn’t know Miller personally but said if Moreno thinks he should step down, “I’m supportive of that.”
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska took a harder line, saying allegations of domestic and child abuse are disqualifying for any lawmaker. “If there is truth to them, I am one who says that our elected officials need to be held to high standards,” she said. Rick Scott of Florida, Jim Justice of West Virginia, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming also backed Moreno, with Scott adding, “It sounds like he thinks he needs psychological help.”
Miller’s defiance is a gamble, one that could backfire if the ethics investigation uncovers damning evidence. On Tuesday, he announced on X that he would request his own ethics probe to “clear my name from these horrific attacks.” “The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same,” he wrote. “I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.”
(Featured image: Gage Skidmore)
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