Ohio's two GOP senators urge Max Miller to resign

Sen. Jon Husted called on Rep. Max Miller to resign from Congress on Thursday, joining Ohio's senior senator, Bernie Moreno, and leaving both of the state's Republican senators aligned against a sitting House member from their own party.

Husted posted the statement on X on Thursday afternoon, ending a week in which he had mostly avoided the controversy surrounding his colleague. He had told Newsmax earlier that he wanted those involved to sort through the matter at a family level.

A rare intra-party break

Moreno and Husted serve together in the Senate, and their joint stance puts two sitting senators publicly against a fellow Ohio Republican over domestic abuse allegations. Moreno is Miller's former father-in-law, the father of Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno. Two senators from the same state breaking with a House colleague of their own party is unusual.

Anyone who commits domestic violence is not fit to serve in Congress.

In the same post, Husted said the House Ethics Committee should thoroughly investigate any credible allegations and that any member found to have committed domestic violence should resign immediately. He said he was glad the committee had opened an investigation into whether Miller engaged in domestic violence or used illegal drugs.

Husted, who said he knows Miller, Emily Moreno and their daughter, wrote that he did not see how a campaign for Congress benefited any of them. He said he believed Miller would look back years from now and know that stepping aside was the right choice for his daughter.

What Emily Moreno alleges

Emily Moreno has accused Miller of burning her chest and stomach with hot water and of holding a gun to her head, according to police reports. She has also said he threw her against a wall. Their 2-year-old daughter suffered a broken collarbone and bruising, the cause of which was disputed and investigated by police in February 2026.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into allegations of domestic violence and illegal drug use against Miller. Court transcripts showed Emily Moreno told him she believed he had a drug problem and had found needles by his bed, claims he denied. Another transcript had Miller telling her he was injecting himself with testosterone, and last week she asked a court for a restraining order to block him from contacting her lawyer.

Miller also faces a separate defamation lawsuit from Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump spokesperson, who has alleged that he abused her during a relationship that predated his marriage to Emily Moreno.

The dispute escalated over the past week into public view. Moreno accused Miller of withholding their daughter's stuffed animal, a "little blue bunny," during a custody exchange, an episode Miller denied. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana referenced that report in calling Miller a "degenerate sociopath," and Moreno said an unclothed photo of the child, published in the documents Miller released, amounted to a felony.

Moreno told CNN on Thursday that he had moved his daughter and granddaughter out of state to a secure place as the controversy intensified.

How Moreno went public

Moreno spoke out for the first time since his daughter and Miller separated in 2024, reacting on Sunday to a video in which Miller denied the abuse allegations. He wrote that he had hoped to keep the matter private but that Miller's increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior had made that impossible, and he said Miller needs serious psychological help.

On Tuesday, Moreno repeated his call for Miller to resign, telling reporters that his daughter lives in constant fear and, echoing a Sunday statement, that Miller fails any basic standard of character to hold public office. Both men are allies of Trump, who endorsed Moreno in his 2024 Senate primary and employed Miller as a senior White House adviser.

Other Republican senators have added their voices, with several publicly urging Miller to resign by Thursday. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told Politico that Miller should resign, saying he did not know Miller's story but trusted Moreno so much. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida also called for him to step down.

Donovan O'Neil, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, called Miller unfit to serve in a Thursday post, saying Republicans had recently called out the Democratic candidate Graham Platner over a sexual assault claim and should be just as willing to call out Miller. A bill from Reps. Ro Khanna and Anna Paulina Luna to bar campaign funds from settling sexual misconduct claims has drawn renewed attention.

Where Trump stands

President Trump has not taken a clear position; asked aboard Air Force One whether Miller should resign, he said, "I'm gonna look at it." Husted had earlier described himself as sad about the situation and said he hoped Trump would help move things along. When first asked whether Miller should be replaced on the ballot, Husted declined to comment.

Miller refuses to step aside

Miller has repeatedly vowed to keep running for a third term and has strongly denied every allegation. He was married to Emily Moreno from 2022 to 2024, and the two share a 2-year-old daughter. He released a video of more than 20 minutes on Sunday rejecting his ex-wife's claims and made public a large cache of investigative and court documents that he said would clear him.

Miller has said no criminal charge has ever been filed against him and that every allegation was already investigated. He pointed to an April letter from county investigators that closed a probe into whether he physically abused his daughter in February, describing its finding as unsubstantiated. In his video, he asked whether his ex-wife would have offered to cook him dinner six days after an alleged assault.

In the video, Miller said the hot water incident happened during horseplay and disputed that the water was boiling. He said a mark on his daughter's neck came from finger painting rather than an injury. He has accused his ex-wife and Moreno of trying to end his political career and has sued Emily Moreno for defamation.

The ballot deadline

Under Ohio law, Miller would need to withdraw by Saturday to allow the replacement process to play out before a 4 p.m. deadline on Monday, which a spokesperson for Ohio's secretary of state confirmed to NBC News. Miller is seeking re-election in Ohio's 7th Congressional District, a Cleveland-area seat.

In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs, I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family. I have absolutely nothing to hide.

Miller had not said as of Thursday whether he would withdraw before the Saturday window. He filed his own request for a House Ethics Committee investigation on Tuesday, saying he would provide the committee all necessary documents and that the accusations against him kept changing while his facts stayed the same.

No criminal charges have been filed against Miller in connection with his ex-wife's claims.

Emily Moreno's spokesperson, Stefan Mychajliw, called Miller's video "shameful" and "lie-filled." He said there was a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior, and that Miller "can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law."