Bernie Moreno says ex-son-in-law unfit for House after breaking silence
Rep. Max Miller, the Ohio Republican and former White House aide, faced intensifying calls from members of his own party to resign on Monday over domestic abuse allegations, after his ex-father-in-law, GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno, declared him unfit to serve.
Moreno — father of Miller’s former wife, Emily Moreno — broke his silence Sunday after months of declining to 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,” posted Moreno, an ally of President Donald Trump. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”
Miller has denied the allegations. He posted a livestream video defending himself against the abuse accusations and saying his former wife had “significant mental-health challenges.”
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 Miller faces Democrat Brian Poindexter and the party already faces an uphill challenge to keep its wafer-thin majority in the House. The president reportedly told Miller that “things aren’t looking good” for his campaign. Asked about Miller by reporters, Trump avoided taking sides. “I know Max, he’s a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person,” Trump said. “And I’m going to let the families figure that out.”
Miller has resisted calls to withdraw from the race and told the Wall Street Journal that Trump “was supportive of me over the phone” during the call. “He said he had a poll with no detail, and I pushed back with our poll that has us winning by 9 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.”
Six Republican senators publicly backed Moreno against Miller, with statements ranging from an outright call for Miller to resign to expressions of conditional concern about the allegations. Roger Marshall of Kansas told Politico that Miller “should resign. He should quit.” “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,” Marshall said.
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia 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 of Alaska said the accusations were serious. “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,” Murkowski said. “And certainly, when it comes to allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, that’s not what we want in our lawmakers.”
Rick Scott of Florida, Jim Justice of West Virginia and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming also gave public backing to Moreno against Miller. Scott said: “I don’t know enough about the allegations, but like Bernie said, it sounds like he thinks he needs psychological help. I trust Bernie.”
Miller has been accused of holding a gun to Emily Moreno’s head and scalding her with boiling water. Their toddler daughter, born in 2023, is also said to have suffered a broken collar bone due to his actions. Miller denies the allegations and has filed a defamation case against his wife over the claims. The couple, who married at Trump’s club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in 2022, divorced in 2025.
Miller’s decision whether to remain in the race now carries a procedural deadline. If he removes his name from the ballot before the close of business Tuesday, a special Republican primary would be held to replace him. If he withdraws after that point, the party would still need to replace him by 10 August, and would need to give two days’ notice beforehand to hold a meeting to choose a substitute candidate.