Max Miller faces calls to quit over abuse claims

US congressman Max Miller is facing growing calls to abandon his reelection bid after domestic abuse allegations against him unsettled Republicans before November's midterm elections.

Miller, a former aide in President Donald Trump's White House, has denied allegations by his former wife, Emily Moreno, that he physically abused her during their marriage and endangered their two-year-old daughter, who suffered a broken collarbone while in his care.

“No court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me,” Miller said in a video posted Sunday. He said he would stay in the race and win.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily Moreno's father and Miller's former father-in-law, later called for Miller to leave Congress. Moreno said Miller's “increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior” had forced him to speak publicly after previously trying to keep the dispute private.

“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” Moreno said. He accused Miller of posing a danger to his daughter and granddaughter and said the congressman needed professional help.

Miller has filed a defamation lawsuit against his former wife and has questioned her mental health. The allegations appear in court filings from a custody battle and include claims that he scalded her, struck her and threatened her with a gun.

Miller has rejected demands that he leave the race in conservative-leaning Ohio before a Wednesday deadline that would allow Republicans to replace him on the ballot.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and other senior House Republicans have largely avoided commenting. Ohio congressmen Jim Jordan and Mike Turner described the accusations as a private or judicial matter.

Trump also stopped short of calling for Miller's resignation. “So far, it's accusations,” the president told reporters Sunday, saying he would examine the matter.

Trump carried the district by 11 percentage points in 2024, but Miller won his latest House race with just over half the vote. Democrats increasingly see an opening for Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker. A recent poll conducted by a Republican firm put Poindexter five points ahead of Miller.