Max Miller

WASHINGTON - Democratic women in Congress on Thursday called on the House Committee on Ethics to probe domestic violence allegations against Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller of Bay Village that surfaced during a child custody dispute with his former wife.

A statement from the Democratic Women’s Caucus said the domestic violence and child abuse claims leveled by Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno are “deeply disturbing” and said “Congress can’t ignore them.”

“Allegations of violence against women and children have to be met with the utmost seriousness,” said the statement, signed by the organization’s leaders, including U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron, whose district is on the eastern border of Miller’s.

“We therefore call on the House Committee on Ethics to swiftly and thoroughly investigate these allegations,” the statement continues. “Every woman and child deserves to live free from fear of violence, especially within the sanctity of their own home, and we will not stop fighting until that’s the reality.”

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose district is north of Miller’s, echoed those sentiments and issued a statement of her own that called the abuse allegations “serious and deeply disturbing.”

“I don’t believe someone facing allegations of this nature can continue to hold the public’s trust or effectively serve their constituents,” said Brown adding that she’ll do all she can to help elect Miller’s Democratic opponent in November, Brook Park council member Brian Poindexter.

Democrats aren’t the only ones calling for an ethics investigation of Miller. South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday told Newsweek that the allegations against Miller “must be investigated, and if true, he should resign immediately.”

Miller spokeswoman Abigail Angelos rejected the calls for a probe.

“The facts speak for themselves: the court has continued to permit him joint custody of his child,” said a statement from Angelos. “If there were credible evidence supporting these outrageous accusations, that simply would not be the case. Congressman Miller will continue to vigorously defend his reputation against false and reckless allegations designed to inflame public opinion rather than reflect reality. This narrative has gone on long enough.”

Moreno, the daughter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, who is in a custody dispute with Miller over their two-year-old daughter, filed legal papers in May that claim Miller abused her during their marriage, including an incident in which she said he threw hot water on her from a skillet he was using to cook eggs. The filing included photos of bruises.

Miller has denied the abuse allegations and sued Moreno and her attorney for defamation. His defamation lawsuit says the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services investigated child abuse claims leveled by Moreno in 2025 and 2026, found the allegations were unsubstantiated. The legal papers say it closed the cases and provided written dismissal notices to Miller.

Investigators determined that two-day care providers were responsible for the injuries to his daughter, according to a Cuyahoga County DCFS report reviewed by cleveland.com.

Moreno asked a Cuyahoga County judge to dismiss Miller’s defamation suit under Ohio’s anti-SLAPP law, which shields people from lawsuits meant to punish them for speaking on matters of public concern.

Miller’s ex-girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, sued him separately in July, claiming his public comments about her during the Moreno dispute violated a confidential 2023 settlement from an earlier defamation case Miller had filed against her.

Democrats hope the allegations against Miller will help them win the Republican-leaning district.

Battleground Alliance PAC, a labor-backed group working to help Democrats flip House seats, began robocalling roughly 100,000 households in Miller’s district this month, recounting the allegations from both Moreno and Grisham.

On Thursday, Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted its rating of the race from “Likely Republican” to “Leans Republican,” citing the allegations against Miller as a factor, as well as a New York Times report that Republicans close to President Donald Trump said they saw polling that was “alarming” for Miller’s candidacy.

Crystal Ball managing editor Kyle Kondik wrote that although Trump had an 11-point edge in the district, “if the state’s Senate and gubernatorial races are close, as polling suggests, those races might be close in this district, too, and the allegations against Miller could give Democrats more of an opening.

Miller still holds a financial edge over Poindexter, a union ironworker who won an eight-candidate Democratic primary in May for the chance to take on Miller.

The incumbent ended June with $1.38 million in the bank against Poindexter’s $312,290, though Poindexter’s cash on hand had more than tripled from the previous quarter. Miller also carries $970,000 in debt from a loan he made to his own campaign, while Poindexter reported no debt.

Miller raised $346,581 in direct contributions during the quarter, plus a $67,958 transfer from his joint fundraising committee. Poindexter raised $386,231, outpacing Miller’s direct haul. Both candidates drew heavily from out-of-state donors, with Poindexter’s PAC support coming largely from labor unions and Miller’s from corporate and trade PACs including AIPAC, which has directed about $185,000 to Miller’s campaign this cycle.