Ohio Rep. Miller defies calls to step aside over abuse claims by Sen. Moreno's daughter

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Aug 3, 2026

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Embattled Republican Rep. Max Miller is defying calls to step aside ahead of a Wednesday deadline to drop his congressional reelection bid amid his ex-wife’s father Sen. Bernie Moreno's demands for his resignation over domestic violence allegations.

Miller, a former aide to President Donald Trump, says he won’t drop his bid for a third term from a red-leaning Ohio district and denounces as a hoax the claims that he abused his former wife, Emily Moreno, and that he is responsible for their daughter breaking her collarbone while in his care.

“I’m not dropping out of this race and I’ll win in November,” Miller said in a brief video announcement.

Miller put out the statement after his ex-father-in-law and fellow Republican demanded Miller leave Congress.

“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” Moreno, R-Ohio, tweeted. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”

Moreno added that 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.”

If Miller, who won his Republican primary unopposed, reverses course and drops out of the race by Aug, 5, GOP leaders could pick a replacement candidate to run in the November midterms general election.

Trump carried the district, which stretches south from the outskirts of Cleveland into rural farmland, by 11% in 2024. But Democrat Brian Poindexter is a modest favorite to flip the seat if Miller remains his opponent amid the scandal.

Trump, who backs both Moreno and Miller, has declined to comment on the GOP family drama and appeared to downplay the allegations against Miller.

“So far it’s accusations,” Trump said late Sunday as he flew back to Washington, D.C.

Emily Moreno says Miller scalded, hit and threatened her with a gun during a nearly three-year marriage that ended last year in divorce.

She accused Miller of burning her with “hot water from a pan of eggs he’d just cooked” after she told him she wanted a divorce. Miller countered that he sprayed her with water from the kitchen faucet and dismissed the incident as “horseplay,” CBS News reported.

In 2025, Moreno said Miller violently shoved her against a wall when they met to hand over their young daughter for visitation and that Miller had “previously held a gun to her head,” according to police report and court records.

Things got even more contentious this past February when Moreno accused Miller of causing their daughter to break her collarbone while in his care.

A police officer said a county child protection specialist confirmed the incident and wrote in the report that a bruise accompanying the injury “appears to be a handprint and appears to have been inflicted.”

Emily Moreno also claimed the child said to her, “Daddy kill you,” according to the police report in the same case.

No criminal charges have been filed. Miller denies all he charges and has countersued Emily Moreno and her lawyer for defamation, saying his ex-wife has mental problems.

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