Bernie Moreno

Republican Ohio representative Max Miller says he’s continuing his bid for reelection amid allegations of domestic abuse, despite growing calls for his resignation and a public denunciation by his former father-in-law, U.S. senator Bernie Moreno.

After teasing a “special announcement” over the weekend, Miller took part in a livestream on X on Sunday morning where he denied his ex-wife Emily Moreno’s claims of abuse and made it clear that he has no intention of dropping his bid for his third term in office. “I’m not getting out of this race and I’m winning in November,” the representative said ahead of a Wednesday deadline for the Republican Party to replace him on the ballot.

In the nearly 20-minute-long video, Miller denied having abused his ex-wife or their 2-year-old daughter, suggesting that the claims were false and stemmed from his wife’s “significant mental-health challenges.”

“I’ve been portrayed as an abusive husband, an abusive father, and a violent man,” Miller said. “Those allegations have damaged my reputation, caused enormous pain to my family, and, most importantly, it’s affected our daughter.”

He continued, “Just want to be clear: No court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me. My former wife is engaging in a pattern of reporting incredible, serious, and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence. Every single one of these allegations were already investigated, and I cooperated fully every single time because I had nothing to hide and I have nothing to hide now.”

Stefan Mychajliw, a spokesman for Emily Moreno, issued a statement calling it “shameful” that Miller went on a “bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career.”

“No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career. Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law. We are confident that justice will prevail in court,” Mychajliw wrote.

Miller filed for divorce from Moreno in 2024 and the separation was finalized last year. But the former couple’s ongoing and ugly dispute over custody of their daughter has grown increasingly public in recent months as news outlets unearthed Moreno’s allegations of abuse that were detailed in court papers and police records.

In June the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported on a motion that Moreno filed in response to a defamation lawsuit from Miller in which she described a 2024 incident where the representative threw hot water from a pan at her after she told him she was leaving him, submitting photos of red marks on her body. Per the outlet, Moreno explained in an affidavit that she didn’t report what happened to the police because she felt she wouldn’t be believed. “Congressman Miller, my toddler and I were the only people present and it would be his word against mine,” she said, per the Plain-Dealer.

A CNN report from that same month examined police videos recorded as authorities investigated the cause of Miller and Moreno’s daughter’s broken collarbone, an inquiry that didn’t result in any criminal charges. In the recordings, Moreno describes two separate incidents where she alleges Miller held a gun to her head and another where she claims he threw her against a wall during a custody exchange. Miller denied all of these allegations one by one in his Sunday video.

But Miller’s livestream prompted a response from a notable figure, Senator Bernie Moreno, his former-father-in-law, who has largely stayed silent as reports of Miller’s actions toward his daughter circulated. In a lengthy social-media post, Moreno said the past two years following his daughter Emily’s divorce have been “pure hell” for her, his wife Bridget, and their family. The senator said he had intended to keep the family matter private with the goal of protecting his daughter and his 2-year-old granddaughter but wrote that Miller’s “increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible.”

“As he has admitted privately, Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter,” he wrote. “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. I believe Max Miller needs to seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake. I believe he should not be free to continue endangering others until he does.”

Miller responded directly to Moreno’s comments soon after, challenging his claims. “If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable. You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political,” he said, tagging his former father-in-law.

Miller, a former Trump administration appointee, has been publicly accused of abuse before. In her 2021 memoir, former White House communications director Stephanie Grisham accused an ex-boyfriend of abusive behavior, a person reported to be Miller. He denied the charges and sued Grisham for defamation but ultimately dropped the suit.

The representative is set to face Brian Poindexter, a Democratic councilmember in a Cleveland suburb and an ironworker, in the fall. The Cook Political Report lists the Seventh Congressional District seat as “likely red,” suggesting that Miller should be favored in the face-off. But the lingering reports against him have prompted speculation that Democrats might have a chance in the Donald Trump–friendly district.

Aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump was asked by a reporter if Miller should resign from office. Trump, who has endorsed Miller, said he had “just learned about it” and stopped short of saying the representative should step down. “Well, I’m gonna look at it. I mean, so far, it’s accusations. I’ll be looking at it, yeah,” the president said.