GOP Chair Backs Miller Despite Abuse Allegations
GOP Chair Backs Miller Despite Abuse Allegations
The News
House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain said Sunday she is backing Rep. Max Miller's bid for a third term despite abuse allegations from his ex-wife, because "I will support anyone with an R behind their name."
"At the end of the day, he's our nominee right now," the Michigan congresswoman said on CBS's "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "I wish the allegations weren't true."
Miller, an Ohio Republican, has denied the allegations. Several Republican senators have called on him to quit the race.
Timeline
Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, asks a court for a restraining order to bar Miller from contacting her lawyers. Moreno, the daughter of GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, alleges Miller verbally and physically abused her and their two-year-old daughter — including throwing boiling water at her, pointing a gun at her and throwing her against a wall, and causing a clavicle fracture and a bruise on their daughter.
Miller denies everything in a livestream: "My former wife is engaging in a pattern of reporting incredible, serious and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence." He says every allegation was already investigated and that he cooperated fully "because I had nothing to hide."
President Trump calls Miller to raise concerns, sources told CBS News at the time — a day before Ohio's withdrawal deadline.
The deadline passes for Miller to withdraw without triggering a special election primary in Ohio. He stays in.
Sen. Bernie Moreno says his daughter "lives in constant fear of this man" and that Miller "should not serve in the House of Representatives."
House Speaker Mike Johnson tells reporters of Miller: "He's been a great member of Congress."
McClain says on "Face the Nation" that Miller is "our nominee right now."
Reactions
McClain framed her support as party math. "I'm focused on winning the House back, taking the House back, keeping the House because we are the only party that's actually putting more money in your pocket, making sure that crime is down, securing the border, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse," she said. "And Max Miller has been a good advocate for his constituents doing that." She added that "divorces are ugly," but "at the end of the day, we got to let the process play out."
Sens. Katie Britt, Jim Banks and John Husted are among the Republican lawmakers who have called on Miller to drop out, according to CBS News.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, Miller's former father-in-law, said he has to pick up his granddaughter at a police station for custody exchanges because he does not know "what this guy's capable of." He claimed Miller once refused to hand over a blue stuffed bunny and "literally held it hostage" from his daughter. Moreno said Miller "needs serious psychological help."
CBS News said it reached out to Miller for comment Sunday.
What's Next
Miller remains the Republican nominee in his Ohio district heading into the midterms, with the withdrawal window already closed. The divorce and custody fight continues in court.
The open question is whether more Republican leaders break with Johnson and McClain — and whether GOP leadership's decision to defend the seat costs the party more than the seat is worth. Republicans hold a slim House majority, and the party holding the White House has traditionally lost seats in midterms.
More
Miller has also faced accusations from former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and from a woman who knew him in high school. Trying to discredit the claims against him, he released a Dropbox folder of documents in his own defense — a folder that appeared to include naked photos of his daughter, escalating the divorce and custody battle further, CBS News reported.
Poll
Should House Republican leaders keep backing Max Miller's reelection?
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