WH asked Ohio GOP to avoid pressure campaign against Max Miller: Report

After the White House became convinced that Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, would not drop out of the race, allies of President Donald Trump reportedly asked Ohio Republicans to refrain from calling for his ouster, Politico reported, citing "three people granted anonymity to share direct knowledge of private conversations."

Miller has faced allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who has filed a restraining order against him. He denies wrongdoing. But former White House Communications Director Stephanie Grisham, who dated Miller, has also filed a restraining order and accused him of abusive behavior.

President Donald Trump declined to publicly call for Miller to step aside, and the deadline for the GOP to replace him on the ticket had he done so passed on Monday. Despite Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, Miller's ex-father-in-law, saying he should not serve in Congress, few other Republicans piled on.

According to Politico, the White House had privately told Republicans to let things play out in the election.

“They basically told us to back off,” one source said.

Miller is running against Brian Poindexter, and recent polling has suggested that the Democrat could pull off an upset in the Trump-leaning district.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.