The Max Miller Scandal

The story so far

As of August 5, 2026

A fast-escalating political and legal fight around Ohio Rep. Max Miller pits the congressman against his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, over domestic-abuse allegations and restraining orders, with high-profile Republicans and Democrats pulled in. It now sits in two arenas at once: a formal House Ethics Committee investigation of Miller and a campaign that party leaders are not moving to end, as Speaker Mike Johnson said the allegations are serious but declined to call for him to step aside.

The sequence that explains the present started when Rep. Jim Jordan publicly backed Miller’s reelection, followed by a judge dismissing Miller’s domestic-violence case against Moreno for lack of evidence of harm. Moreno then sought restraining orders and alleged Miller assaulted her lawyer; Miller issued a categorical denial. Her father, Senator Bernie Moreno, branded Miller a danger to his daughter, and Democrats began targeting the northeast Ohio district as a potential pickup.

Now, Miller says he will press ahead with his reelection bid and reject calls to resign, including from Senator Bernie Moreno. Johnson’s stance leaves him on the ballot without a party-driven exit, while the ethics inquiry and active restraining-order filings ensure the allegations dominate the race and give Democrats a clear opening.

Key facts remain contested: Emily Moreno alleges scalding and physical abuse during their marriage and an assault on her attorney; Miller denies any abuse. The dismissed case involved his allegations against her, not an adjudication of her latest claims, and the outcomes of her filings have not been resolved in court. Republicans are split between figures defending Miller and those urging him to step aside, a split that now coexists with an official House ethics probe but not a forced withdrawal.