Calls grow for Max Miller to resign amid abuse allegations

A court filing from Emily Moreno’s lawyer deepened the pressure on Rep. Max Miller as abuse allegations against the two-term Ohio Republican spread through Washington and Ohio politics. The filing asked a court on Thursday to issue a restraining order blocking Miller from contacting the lawyer, while Miller continued to deny accusations that he abused his ex-wife and their young daughter.

The allegations have become a public family and political rupture. Emily Moreno has accused Miller of domestic abuse, including claims that he burned her with hot water, held a gun to her head and fractured their 2-year-old daughter’s collarbone. Miller has rejected those allegations, and the dispute has now spilled into his reelection campaign, where the controversy has raised fresh questions about his political future.

Bernie Moreno, the Ohio senator who is Miller’s former father-in-law, has taken the unusual step of publicly urging him to step aside. Moreno said Miller “should not serve in Congress” and should seek professional help, adding pressure from inside the Republican orbit rather than from partisan critics alone. Emily Moreno and Miller were married for two years before their 2024 divorce.

Donald Trump added to the scrutiny on Monday, calling Miller “a very good person” and saying he would “let the families figure that out” before declining to weigh in more substantially. His comments left the Ohio congressman without the forceful backing that embattled members of Congress often seek when personal conduct allegations threaten to collapse a campaign.

The legal and political stakes have climbed since July 30, when Emily Moreno filed for a new restraining order against Miller. The case has placed a sitting House member under intense public scrutiny at a moment when allegations of domestic abuse are colliding with questions of Republican accountability, family ties and the standard for when a member of Congress should resign.