WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno said his former son-in-law, U.S. Rep. Max Miller, should not be serving in the House and should 鈥渟eek professional help鈥� as Miller defended himself against in a live video on X on Sunday.
Moreno, who has been publicly restrained in recent months as the bitter custody dispute has played out between Miller and his daughter Emily, said in a lengthy post: “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.鈥�
Moreno wrote that Miller 鈥渘eeds serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.”
Miller, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, said Sunday that he will remain in his race for reelection before a Wednesday deadline to replace him. Democrats in the northeast Ohio congressional seat as the Republican incumbent has faced mounting pressure over the domestic abuse allegations in a bitter and drawn-out custody battle with his ex-wife.
鈥淚鈥檓 not dropping out of this race and I鈥檒l win in November,鈥� said Miller, who denied abusing his former wife and his daughter.
Asked on Sunday evening if Miller should resign, Trump said that 鈥渟o far it’s accusations.鈥�
鈥淚’ll be looking at it,鈥� Trump said.
Scrutiny of Miller has escalated in recent weeks
Accusations against Miller, who was a White House adviser during Trump鈥檚 first term, have been public for years but have recently drawn increased scrutiny as back and forth in the case has escalated.
Emily Moreno has said that Miller scalded, hit and threatened her while they were married. Miller denied those allegations in the video, as he has in the past.
鈥淚t’s incredibly upsetting,鈥� Miller said, as he went through a list of the allegations.
Miller also said he had nothing to do with a broken collarbone on their 2-year-old daughter that led Emily Moreno to contact authorities. The pair, who were married in 2022 and finalized their divorce last year, have presented different theories about how the injury occurred, according to court filings and police reports detailed in an article in July in the magazine Mother Jones that first revealed the child鈥檚 injury.
Miller accompanied his announcement with the release of a voluminous cache of investigative and court documents, as well as audio and video clips, related to the custody dispute.
Spokesperson for Miller’s ex-wife says video was 鈥榮hameful鈥�
A spokesperson for Emily Moreno, Stefan Mychajliw, said Sunday that the video was 鈥渟hameful.鈥�
鈥淣o loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career,鈥� Mychajliw said. 鈥淢iller 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.鈥�
Sen. Bernie Moreno’s statement on Sunday came after he had declined to comment on the specific allegations for months. Last week, a spokeswoman issued a statement saying the senator 鈥渨ill not litigate these matters in the media or respond to baseless public attacks.鈥�
鈥淪enator Moreno鈥檚 top priority is the safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter,鈥� said the spokeswoman, Reagan McCarthy.
Potential GOP candidates eye Miller’s seat
The senator鈥檚 statement was prompting some hand-wringing behind the scenes in his home state, where Trump-endorsed candidates like Miller typically win with ease.
Miller’s Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, said no one facing such accusations 鈥渂elongs in the halls of power.鈥�
State Rep. Mike Dovilla, a U.S. Navy veteran and former presidential appointee to the Office of Personnel Management, and Kevin Coughlin, a former state senator and representative who ran for the U.S. House in 2024 and 2026, were among Republicans whose names were being floated should Miller drop his fall House bid, according to a high-ranking Republican who discussed the sensitive subject on condition of anonymity.
Democrats have recently called on Miller to resign, requested a congressional ethics investigation and suggested more help could be directed in the fall toward Poindexter.
Miller won reelection two years ago with just over 51% of the vote.
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Smyth reported from Columbus, Ohio.
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