Ten months ago, when a judge issued a restraining order against Rep. Cory Mills for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of threatening and harassing her, the Florida Republican appeared to claim the mantle of the “most controversial member of Congress.”
That, however, was before the domestic abuse allegations surrounding Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio came to the fore.
As The New York Times reported last week, Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, “has said that Mr. Miller scalded her chest and stomach by throwing hot water from a skillet at her body; held a gun to her head; pushed her against a wall and hit her head; and fractured their daughter’s collarbone and bruised her shoulder.”
According to court documents, the article added, their 2-year-old daughter at one point told Moreno, “Daddy kill you.”
The GOP congressman has denied the claims and accused his ex-wife of “engaging in a pattern of reporting incredibly serious and destructive allegations with absolutely no evidence,” and time will tell how the acrimonious family dispute is adjudicated in court. In the meantime, the political debate over Miller, his career and his future has reached a new level of intensity.
For his part, the incumbent congressman — who only narrowly won re-election two years ago and was already considered vulnerable ahead of this year’s midterm elections — apparently thought it’d be a good idea to release a video message over the weekend, as part of a broader defense.
Miller continued to deny the allegations but also echoed a common defense offered by people accused of abuse. “Ask yourself: If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?” the Ohioan asked rhetorically.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, a fellow Ohio Republican, is the father of Miller’s ex-wife, and when asked last week whether Miller should remain on the ballot, the senator said he wasn’t sure. After the congressman put out his video, however, Moreno released a statement that called on Miller to step down from Congress altogether.
This is hardly a consensus view in GOP politics. House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared unmoved by the scandal during a press conference two weeks ago, saying the controversy was rooted entirely in unproven “allegations.” Donald Trump, whom Miller used to work for during the president’s first term, emphasized the same line Sunday night and again as this week got underway.
Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist, noted via social media, “Any Republican who rightly criticized Graham Platner should have no problem calling for Max Miller to resign.”
Most of the party, at least for now, apparently disagrees, underscoring a rather dramatic difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to professional standards and misconduct allegations.
If, however, GOP officials decide to show Miller the door, they’ll have to act quickly: The deadline to replace the congressman on the ballot is just two days away. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
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