Congress
Jon Husted urges Max Miller to resign House seat
Sen. Jon Husted said Thursday his fellow Ohio Republican, Rep. Max Miller, should “step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress” — breaking days of silence about the burgeoning controversy over domestic abuse claims that Miller denies.
Husted serves alongside Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), the father of Miller’s ex-wife. He remained quiet on the issue this week even after Bernie Moreno broke his own silence Sunday to denounce Miller as unfit for office and in need of “professional help.”
Husted said in his latest statement he does “not see how a campaign for Congress benefits” Miller, ex-wife Emily Moreno or their daughter.
“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” Husted added. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”
A spokesperson for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations, which include drawing a gun on Emily Moreno and breaking their child’s collarbone, and called them “politically motivated” in a BLN interview this week.
Earlier in the week, Husted said he was “sad about the situation” and said he hoped President Donald Trump would “help move things along.” Miller spoke to Trump earlier this week but said afterward he had no plans to resign.
Husted’s statement came as several Senate Republicans spoke out in support of the Moreno family. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said earlier on Thursday that Miller should “step aside and seek help,” calling him “a degenerate sociopath.”
Husted issued his statement as another prominent Ohio Republican, Vice President JD Vance, addressed Senate Republicans at a Capitol Hill lunch hosted by Bernie Moreno. Vance has not publicly commented on the matter.
The controversies around Miller have threatened what had been considered a safe Republican district, with Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter mounting a strong campaign to deny Miller a third term. The White House has privately pushed for Miller to drop out of the race before Monday — the deadline for Ohio Republicans to replace his name on the ballot.
The House Ethics Committee said earlier this week it is investigating the domestic abuse allegations as well as claims of illegal drug use by Miller — a probe the lawmaker asked for in a bid to clear his name. Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently told Blue Light News in an interview that he would allow that investigation to run its course and would not call on Miller to step down or end his candidacy.
The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight committee is demanding the White House answer questions related to President Donald Trump’s decision to ban BLN, MS NOW and Blue Light News from the White House, calling it the president’s “most blatant, assault on press freedom.”
In a letter sent Monday to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) requested that Cheung provide by Oct. 5 a detailed account of when and how he was informed of the ban, how he responded, who was consulted before the decision, the legal justification for it, the facts the White House relied on and whether the outlets had any opportunity to respond.
“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, not freedom from criticism,” wrote Garcia. “The American people need to understand what consideration—if any—the White House gave to this serious and unprecedented decision to protect the President’s ego.”
Garcia also asked for all White House staff documents and communications about the ban and for any other relevant materials to be preserved.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday announced that he was seeking to block journalists from Blue Light News, MS NOW and BLN from the White House, complaining about “constant ‘reporting’” of what he called “FICTION and LIES.” The Trump administration first denied the media outlets entry into the White House grounds on Saturday morning.
The three news organizations are now jointly suing Trump, Cheung and two other top advisers in a bid to immediately restore access for their reporters, calling the ban a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Monday that the war with Iran “needs to end” to bring prices down, making him the second Republican to break with the White House on the issue that day.
“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers said in a video published Monday to social media.
“Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” he added. “Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first.”
Earlier Monday, Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican Senate candidate in Iowa, expressed similar frustrations about the war’s impact on Iowans’ pocketbooks. Both Rogers and Hinson called for a suspension of the state and federal gas tax in their statements.
Ahead of the midterms, GOP candidates have expressed concern about the war in the Middle East, saying it has made it difficult for them to run on affordability. The war with Iran, which began in February, has led to marked increases in gas and diesel prices. On Monday, regular gas was just over $4.45 per gallon, according to AAA; diesel prices hit a record of $6.50 per gallon.
Rogers, a former representative, is facing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Senate seat in battleground Michigan.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins warned Monday that President Donald Trump would be defying Congress if he moves forward with empowering top political appointees to decide who gets grant funding for health research.
“Any attempt to politicize grantmaking … is contrary to congressional intent,” the Maine Republican said in a statement.
Trump wants to issue an executive order to seat White House budget director Russ Vought and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya on a board that would decide which grants the NIH should fund, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to describe a private meeting in the Oval Office last Friday.
Following reports of that meeting, Collins noted Monday that the stopgap funding patch Congress cleared this summer bars the White House from finalizing a separate proposed rule to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, or “any substantially similar” plan.
The Office of Management and Budget “should not be involved in agency decisions on the awards of grants,” Collins said, adding that “imposing a political review … undermines the long-standing principle that the government funds awards based on scientific need and merit, rather than political ideology.”
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, called the White House’s latest idea an attempt to “take control over federal funding, so they can use it to punish their perceived enemies and reward their friends.”
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, warned that the move would mean “a single political appointee could kill a cancer study or an Alzheimer’s trial with no scientific reason at all.”
A spokesperson for House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole did not return a request for comment regarding the Oklahoma Republican’s position.
- Top House Oversight Dem demands answers to Trump’s media ban
- Mike Rogers says Iran war needs to “end quickly” amid rising prices
- The art of dealing with Trump
- Collins slams Trump plan to ‘politicize’ grants as defying Congress
- Big Ag and Big Oil go head-to-head over diesel export ban
- Hinson calls for end to Iran war amid soaring diesel costs
- Senior GOP appropriator pours cold water on funding Trump’s arch
- Pritzker says he’s lost 80 pounds on GLP-1 since diabetes diagnosis
- Michigan’s Gary Peters to teach at USC after retirement
- Jared Golden crosses party lines again, endorsing Mike Lawler for reelection
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