Republican Rep. Max Miller is defying calls from fellow GOP senators, his own ex-father-in-law, and even a private warning from President Trump to stay in an Ohio congressional race now threatened by domestic abuse allegations, drug use claims, and a formal House Ethics Committee investigation.
Miller's spokesperson confirmed to the New York Times that the congressman will not withdraw before Ohio's deadline to allow a clean party replacement, a decision that has left Republican leaders scrambling and Democrats openly targeting a district Trump carried by 11 points in 2024. A recent poll shows Miller trailing his Democratic challenger, union ironworker and city councilmember Brian Poindexter, by 14 points, with respondents reporting high awareness of the allegations against him.
The accusations come from two separate women. Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, daughter of Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, accused him in court filings of throwing boiling water at her during an argument, holding a gun to her head, shoving her against a wall, and fracturing their infant daughter's collarbone. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who dated Miller in 2019 and 2020, first raised her own domestic abuse claims against him in 2021 and filed a new lawsuit against Miller on July 7, alleging he violated a confidential settlement agreement. Both women have now sought restraining orders against him.
Miller denies all of it. He has released audio recordings, screenshots, and what he called a "trove of files" to make his case. He requested the Ethics Committee investigation himself, saying he has "nothing to hide."
In a CNN interview with Jake Tapper this week, Miller framed his refusal to step aside as a matter of personal principle, comparing his situation to Trump weathering allegations during the 2016 presidential campaign. Miller told Tapper:
"I am never going to give up... my daughter is going to grow up one day, and she's going to see all of this. And she's not going to see that her father caved to political and social media pressures for something that he never did."
When Tapper pressed him on drug use, Miller's answer was less than airtight. He acknowledged past illegal drug use but could not specify when it ended.
"I would have to say, the last time I had illegal drugs would have been, I don't know, several years ago. I mean I don't have a time frame on it, but I don't use illegal drugs."
That admission sits uneasily beside an audio recording Miller himself released, in which his ex-wife Emily Moreno confronted him directly:
"I have gone into your backpack because I truly do believe you have a drug problem. First it was weed, then I found needles next to your bed. I took a picture of it. You can try to deny it to me."
Miller's response on the recording: "Okay, what drugs?" He denied the accusation, invoking what he called his "Jewish word of honor." The Daily Mail reported it also revealed photos of an alleged syringe and marijuana gummies this week.
Miller has insisted publicly that "no court or agency has even substantiated any allegation against me" and that "every single one of these allegations were already investigated." But the House Ethics Committee's formal investigation, covering both domestic violence and drug use, is now open, and the restraining order filings are active.
The most damaging pressure has come from inside Miller's own party, and his own former family. Sen. Bernie Moreno, Miller's ex-father-in-law, broke his public silence and went further than any other Republican in the chamber. Moreno told reporters that his granddaughter's stuffed animal became a flashpoint in the custody dispute:
"She has a little blue bunny that she sleeps with. Max would not hand over the little blue bunny. Literally held it hostage for 48 hours. This girl is crying at night because she can't sleep without her little blue bunny. And his answer is, 'I'm just not going to give it to you.'"
Moreno called the behavior "the level of total and complete depravity." In a separate statement, he said Miller "fails to meet that minimum basic standard" for holding public office and described the broader situation as "the seventh level of h***."
Miller fought back on X, posting screenshots of text messages and emails on Wednesday that he said proved the bunny was returned within 14 hours, not 48. He claimed the pickup had been arranged through the couple's parenting coordinator, and that he refused to hand the toy to a family friend who "wasn't on the approved exchange list," demanding instead that Moreno collect it himself.
Both Ohio Republican senators have now called on Miller to step aside. Sen. Jon Husted posted on X:
"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. Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her."
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said Miller "should resign." Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Miller "shouldn't be in office." An anonymous Republican House member told the Daily Mail: "I have heard people are concerned and do not want to publicly support him as more comes out."
President Trump, who employed Miller as an aide during his first term and endorsed him in May, has stopped well short of calling for his resignation, but his private words were blunt. In a Monday phone call, Trump told Miller, "Things aren't looking good," and added, "Maxi, it's going to be a tough race."
Publicly, Trump has kept his distance. Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, he said he is "not going to get involved" in getting Miller out of the race. Earlier Monday, he referred to the claims as "accusations" and said, "I'm going to let them figure that out." The White House did not respond to inquiries about whether Trump still stands by his endorsement.
House and Senate GOP leadership have remained publicly silent on the matter. Speaker Johnson sidestepped questions about the allegations earlier in the saga. That silence has left the party without a clear public position on a race that is rapidly becoming a liability.
The legal front is escalating. Emily Moreno filed a restraining order through her attorney against Miller on Thursday. Grisham filed her own petition for a restraining order the same week. Grisham's attorney, Marc Dann, told the Ohio Capital Journal:
"The settlement included certain promises that Congressman Miller made to our client Stephanie Grisham, and those promises were broken."
Miller had previously sued Grisham for defamation over her 2021 abuse claims. The pair settled and signed a non-disclosure agreement to "refrain from disparaging each other." Dann's statement suggests Miller breached those terms. Moreno's restraining order filing adds a second active legal proceeding to Miller's already crowded docket.
The court filings from Moreno describe specific alleged incidents. On June 9, 2024, Miller allegedly hurled a pot of boiling water at her during an argument in their Ohio home; some struck her chest. Their daughter was eight months old and present. In a separate incident on February 1, the year was not specified in filings, Miller allegedly grabbed and struck Emily during a custody exchange, leaving bruises on her arm, elbow, and torso. Their daughter Ruth, then two years old, was present for that encounter as well.
The couple reached a divorce settlement in June 2025 that included joint custody and $2,500 per month in child support. Additional incidents involving the couple's daughter have surfaced in recent weeks, compounding the public scrutiny.
Miller won his northeast Ohio district with just over 51 percent of the vote two years ago, making it competitive even before the scandal. Now two Ohio political insiders described the seat as "suddenly in danger of tumbling to the Democrats." One told the Daily Mail it is "only going to get uglier if he doesn't step aside," adding: "The American public shouldn't know about a child's blue bunny."
Poindexter, the Democratic challenger, has not been shy about the opening. He told reporters: "If all the allegations against Congressman Miller prove to be true, Max Miller should be in jail, not worried about retaining a seat in Congress." The House Majority PAC, Democrats' main super PAC for House races, signaled it is watching closely, with spokesperson CJ Warnke saying, "HMP is willing to do whatever it takes to take back the House, and nothing is off the table."
Prediction markets reflect the broader anxiety. Kalshi projects Democrats have an 83 percent chance of controlling the House next year. Polymarket shows similar numbers. Party chiefs are already war-gaming replacement candidates, including former congressman Jim Renacci and state representative Mike Dovilla, but Miller's refusal to withdraw before Saturday's Ohio deadline leaves the replacement process in jeopardy. The final deadline for Republicans to swap him off the ballot is 4 p.m. on Monday, August 10.
The House Ethics Committee investigation now hangs over the race alongside active restraining order proceedings, a 14-point polling deficit, and a growing list of Republican officials who want Miller gone. Miller himself requested the ethics probe, but an investigation he cannot control may produce conclusions he cannot spin.
Republicans can afford to lose very few seats and hold their House majority. If Miller insists on staying, the party may end up paying the price for one man's refusal to read the room, and voters in northeast Ohio will decide whether the allegations, the denials, or the defiance matters most.
