House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw his support behind Rep. Max Miller’s reelection campaign Monday as the Ohio Republican faces a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of domestic violence and illegal drug use.
Johnson praised Miller’s work in Congress while acknowledging that the lawmaker is dealing with allegations involving his personal life.
“He has been a great member of Congress,” Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju. “He has some issues in his personal life he’s working through. The House Ethics Committee is looking into that and any implications it may have.”
The speaker added that he would “let due process play out” as the committee conducts its investigation.
The House Ethics Committee announced in August that it had opened a probe into claims that Miller “may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use” in violation of the House’s code of conduct.
Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused the congressman of throwing scalding hot water at her, holding a gun to her head and breaking their daughter’s collarbone.
Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Miller and Moreno divorced last year and remain involved in a custody dispute over their 2-year-old child. The Ohio Republican filed a defamation lawsuit against his former wife in May.
He later said that he had submitted his own paperwork requesting an ethics investigation in an effort to “clear” his name.
Johnson’s decision to support Miller’s campaign comes as several Republican officials have called on the congressman to resign from the House and abandon his effort to win a third term.
Those urging Miller to step aside include his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
Moreno said last month that his family had endured “the seventh level of hell” during the ongoing custody dispute. The senator called on Miller to “seek professional help to end the clear pattern of abuse he has left in his wake.”
“My daughter lives in constant fear of this man, not like something that’s existential, but deeply in her heart, she fears what this guy is capable of,” Moreno said.
The Ohio senator also described his own reaction as a father to watching his daughter go through the dispute.
“You can’t fathom what that makes me feel like when the dad’s number one job is to protect your kids,” Moreno said.
“This has been brutal, beyond comprehension,” he added.
The allegations and resulting political fallout have also affected assessments of Miller’s reelection race in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District.
The Cook Political Report shifted its rating for the seat last month from “likely Republican” to “toss up.”
Despite the investigation, the accusations from Miller’s ex-wife and the calls from fellow Republicans for him to leave Congress, Johnson is standing behind the incumbent’s bid for another term.
The speaker’s comments indicated that he intends to wait for the Ethics Committee to complete its work before drawing conclusions about the allegations or their possible consequences.
Miller, meanwhile, continues to deny the claims and has maintained that the ethics investigation will provide an opportunity for him to clear his name.
