Rep. Max Miller asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate him. On Tuesday, the panel agreed to do exactly that.
The Ohio Republican is fighting allegations made by his former wife, Emily Moreno, who has said Miller burned her with boiling water and physically abused her and the couple’s toddler daughter. Miller rejects the accusations. He recorded a video disputing them and wrote on X that he has “absolutely nothing to hide,” adding that he would give the committee every document it needs to examine the claims.
The panel said in a statement that it is reviewing whether Miller may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse, or illegal drug use, in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or other applicable standards.
Timing matters here, and not only for the committee. Miller is running for reelection in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. Under state law, Republicans would have to name a replacement candidate by August 10 if he withdraws. Miller has said repeatedly that he is not going anywhere.
That position has not been made easier by the president. In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Miller said Donald Trump phoned him on Monday and questioned whether the seat was still winnable, telling him he did not know whether Miller could pull it out. Miller said he still does not plan to end his campaign.
Trump addressed the case publicly the same day. He called the situation “a very sad thing,” said he had always considered Miller a good person, and said he would leave the matter for the families involved to work out.
One of those families belongs to a sitting senator. On Sunday, Sen. Bernie Moreno, a fellow Ohio Republican and Emily Moreno’s father, called Miller “a danger” to his daughter and said he should not serve in Congress. Emily Moreno was married to Miller until last year. The senator had earlier said he would not litigate the matter in the media and that his focus was the safety of his daughter and granddaughter. He wrote on Sunday that Miller’s behavior, which he described as increasingly erratic and dangerous, had made staying quiet impossible.
Both men built their political careers on proximity to Trump. Miller served as a senior White House aide during Trump’s first administration before winning his House seat, and Moreno reached the Senate with Trump’s backing.
The fallout now reaches beyond one district. Ohio’s 7th has been reliably Republican, and party strategists had not expected to spend money defending it in November. Democrats need to flip only a handful of seats to take back the House, where Republicans hold a 218 to 214 edge with three seats vacant.
The Ethics Committee gave no timeline for its review.
