WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Moreno on Sunday called on Rep. Max Miller, his former son-in-law, to resign from the House and seek professional help, ending months of restraint over domestic-abuse allegations that his daughter has brought against the Ohio Republican.

Moreno's statement, posted on X hours after Miller livestreamed a defense of his conduct and vowed to remain in his re-election race, injected a sitting U.S. senator into a family and political dispute that Republicans in Miller's northeast Ohio district had largely watched from a distance. An Ohio deadline to replace a candidate on the fall ballot falls Wednesday.

Senator's post

"If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives," Moreno wrote. He said Miller "needs serious psychological help" and posed a "danger" to his daughter, Emily Moreno, adding, "I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."

Moreno said he had hoped to keep the matter private but that Miller's "increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible."

The allegations

Emily Moreno, a conservative policy adviser who married Miller in 2022 and divorced him last year, has said in court testimony and in statements to police that Miller threw hot water on her, threw her against a wall and held a gun to her head, according to reports in The New York Times, Mother Jones and the Associated Press. She has also accused him of breaking their 2-year-old daughter's collarbone. Police investigated the injury in February 2026. Miller has not been charged with a crime.

Miller's response

In his livestream Sunday morning, Miller said he would not leave the race and released what he described as a cache of investigative and court documents, audio and video clips. "Just want to be clear: no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me," he said. On X, Miller replied to Moreno: "You know this isn't true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political."

Ohio race

Miller, 37, a White House adviser during President Trump's first term, won reelection two years ago with just over 51% of the vote in Ohio's 7th Congressional District. Trump has endorsed him. Asked Sunday evening whether Miller should resign, Trump said, "so far it's accusations," and added, "I'll be looking at it." State Rep. Mike Dovilla and former state senator Kevin Coughlin were among names being floated as potential replacements should Miller withdraw, according to a high-ranking Republican who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter said no one facing such accusations "belongs in the halls of power."

Miller's framing

Miller has cited his ex-wife's "mental health challenges" in denying the allegations, according to the Washington Examiner. The former couple has been in a custody dispute over their daughter since 2024, the Guardian reported. In his livestream, Miller pointed to interactions in the days after one alleged assault, asking his viewers, "If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later? Would she have invited me to spend an afternoon at the playground with her and our daughter? Would she have written that we were in a friendlier place?" He is suing Emily Moreno for defamation over the allegations.

Emily Moreno's spokesman, Stefan Mychajliw, said Sunday that Miller "can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law." Bernie Moreno had contributed financially to Miller's political committees during the marriage, according to the Washington Examiner. He wrote Sunday that he owed it to his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter "to speak the truth now."