Congress
Mike Johnson says he has ‘no plans’ to campaign with Max Miller
Speaker Mike Johnson said he has no plans to campaign with embattled Rep. Max Miller — or visit his home state of Ohio at all — before the midterms.
“I have no plans to go to Ohio between now and the election,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve said everything I can say about the situation. It’s up to the people in his district.”
Miller is running in what had been considered a safe red district before allegations of abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, the daughter of GOP Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, exploded into public view in recent weeks. Ohio’s two GOP senators have called on Miller to resign.
Miller has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to continue his reelection campaign. A spokesperson for Miller declined to comment.
Johnson said Monday that he supports Miller’s reelection bid and called him a “great member.” The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations, which include physical assaults on his wife and daughter.
“He’s running a good campaign,” Johnson said Wednesday. “He has a nasty divorce. He’s, of course, vehemently denied the claims made. And as I’ve said many times, we allow due process to play out.”
House Republicans’ national campaign arm is joining with embattled GOP Rep. Max Miller to buy TV airtime as allegations of domestic abuse against him put the previously safe north Ohio seat into play.
The NRCC is planning a joint three-week ad buy with Miller’s campaign starting Sept. 7 and totaling more than $150,000. Miller, who represents parts of the Cleveland suburbs, is not among the NRCC’s “Patriots” — the most vulnerable members who typically get the bulk of its spending.
“Democrat Brian Poindexter backs a radical far-left agenda that’s completely out of touch with northeast Ohio,” NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon said in a statement. “Ohioans have a clear choice: Max Miller will vote to stop socialist policies, and Bernie-bro Brian Poindexter will make them a reality.”
Miller said in a statement that he is grateful to Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the NRCC chair, for his “faith in my ability to win this race and the support the NRCC is supplying.”
“Republicans know that this race is bigger than me, it’s about ensuring we maintain this majority,” he said.
Miller is facing allegations of abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. Both of Ohio’s GOP senators have called on Miller to resign over the allegations, which Miller denies.
A DCCC spokesperson, Riya Vashi, called the joint ad buy “a new low” for national Republicans.
“National Republicans are proudly bankrolling an alleged abuser with a lengthy history of damning accusations from multiple women,” she said. “Every House Republican who gives a dime to the NRCC owns this shameful choice.”
The ad buy comes after Miller’s Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter released his first ad of the general election earlier this week, largely focused on his own family, which is running as part of a six-figure buy on digital, cable and broadcast television.
Amid calls to drop his reelection bid last month, Miller remained defiant and refused to exit the race ahead of the deadline to pick another GOP candidate, and Republicans including members of President Donald Trump’s political circle have rallied around him since it became clear he would remain on the ballot.
Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this week said that he supports Miller’s reelection, though he later said he is not planning to campaign with Miller before the election.
Andrew Howard contributed to this report.
Congress
Stauber will run for top Republican on House Natural Resources, while Westerman ponders next move
Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota is making a run for the top Republican spot on the House Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress — teeing up a potential battle with the current chair, Bruce Westerman, who isn’t ruling out asking for a waiver to serve another term.
“Congressman Stauber is running to serve as chair/ranking member of Natural Resources, and he is speaking to members of our Conference, including steering members,” his spokesperson said in an email Thursday.
The GOP Steering Committee, composed of party leaders and members of the conference representing different geographic regions, will meet after the midterms to make assignments to the House’s standing committees — and vote on recommendations for who should be the senior Republican on those committees.
Stauber has sat on Natural Resources since 2020 and currently chairs the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. He has long been active on energy and environmental issues and led the successful effort to overturn a Biden-era ban on mining near the Boundary Stone wilderness in his district.
His public interest in leading his party on the panel could create an uncomfortable showdown with Westerman. The Arkansas Republican is finishing up his third term as the top Republican on Natural Resources and so must step aside at the end of this year, per House GOP term limit rules. But Westerman also could seek a waiver from the steering committee to serve a fourth term, and in an interview Thursday, he was noncommittal on his plans.
“We’ll figure all that out after the election,” Westerman said, adding he was at this time “more focused on winning the majority.”
“It’s premature for me to be talking about a waiver right now,” he added — but, when asked whether that meant he would not ask for one, he replied, “I didn’t say that.”
Westerman also dismissed the idea that a decision to move ahead with a waiver request would forecast a messy fight with Stauber.
“Pete and me battling? No … Pete and I have always been friends, and I’m just not focused on that,” he said.
Stauber’s spokesperson said the lawmaker would pursue the committee leadership position regardless of Westerman’s decision.
Westerman is one of multiple Republican chairs who are term-limited next year and considering asking for an exemption, while risking some intraparty conflicts along the way.
House Agriculture Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.) has already submitted a waiver request and circulated it with colleagues, including those on steering, according to a document obtained by Blue Light News. It comes as Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who is next in line to become chair or ranking member of the committee, has privately approached GOP leaders about succeeding Thompson, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss private discussions.
Rep. Mike Rogers of Arkansas, the chair of House Armed Services, also plans to seek a waiverto serve as the top Republican on the panel in the next Congress. Republican Reps. Ronny Jackson of Texas, Rob Wittman of Virginia and Trent Kelly of Mississippi have said they are interested in the position as well.
A fierce internal battle is developing among House Democrats for a job that might not even be open next Congress.
Reps. Sara Jacobs of California and Lauren Underwood of Illinois are expected to seek the caucus vice chair post. The job is currently held by Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who is expected to step aside only if Democrats prevail in the midterms — allowing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to become speaker and other members of the party leadership to step one rung up the ladder.
Lieu would be in line to become caucus chair in that scenario, and the vice chair would become the only obvious vacancy in the House Democratic hierarchy.
Jacobs sent a Dear Colleague letter Monday officially declaring her run, while a person familiar with Underwood’s thinking who was granted anonymity to discuss her plans said she is “definitely running” but is “exclusively focused on winning back the House” for the time being.
The two candidates already hold lower several level leadership positions. Jacobs is the parliamentarian of House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee and is a regional vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Underwood is a co-chair of House Democrats’ messaging arm, the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. She is also a co-chair of the DCCC’s Red to Blue program.
Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts had also been floating a run to colleagues but announced Wednesday she is no longer pursuing the role. Some House Democrats have bristled at Trahan’s attempt to broker a bipartisan deal to regulate artificial intelligence.
“Rep. Trahan is grateful to the many colleagues who’ve encouraged her to run for Vice Chair,” spokesperson Francis Grubar said in a statement. “She has decided not to seek the position, and will keep her focus on the issues she’s been working diligently to address, including confronting the real risks of frontier AI.”
“She’ll keep doing everything in her power to elect Democrats, retake the House, and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker,” he added.
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