CNN host Dana Bash put Republican Rep. Mike Lawler on the hot seat Thursday about why he won’t return campaign donations from Rep. Max Miller despite allegations of spousal and child abuse against the Ohio congressman.
The attacks come as Miller faces a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of domestic violence leveled by ex-wife Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. She has also alleged Miller broke the collarbone of their 2-year-old daughter. Miller has vehemently denied the claims and any wrongdoing and insisted he will stay in the race.
During the interview on CNN’s Inside Politics, Bash asked Lawler, who represents New York’s 17th district, about receiving $10,000 from Miller’s PAC. “You have no plans to return the money?” Bash asked Lawler, adding, “Miller has been accused of abusing his ex-wife and his daughter. Why have you decided not to return the $10,000?“
Lawler said that he had spoken to the Ohio congressman, whom he considers a friend, about his divorce and that it was a private matter that should play out in family court. He then tried to pivot the argument to his re-election opponent, Democrat Cait Conley, who has pulled up even in some recent polling against the incumbent, saying that she received donations from disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 when he was implicated in a high-end prostitution ring as the infamous “Client-9.”
But Bash was not having it and brought the conversation back to Miller. “I’m asking you specifically about Max Miller. So, it sounds like you — you said you talk to him a lot privately — it sounds like you’re saying you’re not returning the donations because you believe him.”
“Look, this is a private family matter, that has unfortunately has spilled out into the public,” Lawler responded.
“Max has been accused, Max has also made allegations against his ex-wife. It is tragic, and obviously, I don’t condone any level of abuse, but ultimately there’s been nothing that has been corroborated here.”
Bash pressed him further on why he would notjust return the $10,000 he got from Miller’s pac since its small potatoes compared to the $4.8 million he has on hand for his campaign.
“Is it the principle, because its your friend and you believe him?” she asked. “Why not just give it back?”
Lawler insisted there has “been nothing to veriify any of the claims that have been leveled” against Miller.
In Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, Bob Brooks hit Rep. Ryan Mackenzie for receiving $2,500 from Miller’s committee in March of 2025.
“Ryan Mackenzie is showing his true colors. He took thousands in campaign cash from Max Miller, a congressman facing serious allegations that he violently abused his ex-wife and hurt their young daughter, but Ryan doesn’t care,” Brooks spokesman Benny Stanislawski said.
“That’s who he is: open for business for whoever’s willing to pay up, no questions asked. He’s said nothing about whether he’ll keep the Miller money. He must apologize and return the money immediately.”
When contacted by The Independent, the Mackenzie campaign focused on Miller and Brooks.
“Congressman Mackenzie takes charges like those against Rep. Max Miller very seriously and, if proven true, the campaign would certainly donate it to a charity to help domestic abuse victims,” Andres Weller, Mackenzie’s campaign manager said in a statement. Weller also pointed to a lawsuit where a judge ruled that Brooks had to pay $162,000 to his former mother-in-law, according to Lehigh Valley Public Media.
“Congressman Mackenzie has repeatedly called on Bob Brooks to repay the $162,000 it has been proven that he stole from his own family and which a judge has ruled he needs to pay. To date, he has chosen to ignore that court order.”
In addition, in Michigan’s 7th district, Democratic nominee Will Lawrence criticized Rep. Tom Barrett on X for receiving $2,500 from Miller’s PAC in March of 2025.
“This is who Tom Barrett associates with,” Lawrence posted on X. “He claims to be a family man, but he’s taken thousands in campaign cash from a man credibly accused of abusing his ex-wife and daughter. Max Miller shouldn’t be in Congress and Tom Barrett should return this money.”
The Independent has contacted the Barrett campaign for comment.
The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee said Democrats criticizing the campaign contributions given that other Democratic members of Congress who have been accused of sexual misconduct or faced allegations gave money to their colleagues.
“Democrats are shameless hypocrites who conveniently look the other way when their vulnerable members are bankrolled by scandal-plagued Democrats like Eric Swalwell, Ruben Gallego, Jimmy Gomez, and Bobby Pulido,” spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. “Nobody should take these slimeballs seriously when their supposed principles disappear the second they become politically inconvenient.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California was forced to resign after he faced accusations of sexual misconduct and one woman accused him of rape. Earlier this year, CNN reported that Gomez faces an Ethics Committee investigation relating to sexual misconduct allegations. Texas Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido faces criticism for his ties to a bandmate who was a registered sex offender. And Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has come under criticism for dating two former congressional staffers.
Democrats also supported Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner for months before they pushed him to exit the race after Politico reported an accusation that he allegedly sexually assaulted an ex-partner.
Both Barrett and Mackenzie won their seats in 2024 in highly-contested races. The Cook Political Report lists both of their contests this November as “Toss Up.” President Donald Trump won both districts.
President Donald Trump has so far publicly stuck with Miller, who worked in his first administration. But other Republicans, including Moreno, have called for his exit from Congress.
Sen. Jon Husted, who also received money from Miller in the past, called on Miller to resign.
“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,” he said on X. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”
Democrats believe that the allegations against Miller could bolster his opponent Brian Poindexter. On Tuesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Poindexter would be put on the committee’s “Red to Blue program.”
“Brian Poindexter is exactly the kind of leader Ohio families deserve in Congress — a union ironworker who has spent his life working alongside the people he’s running to represent,” Chairwoman Suzan DelBene said in a statement.
“Max Miller has never lived that reality. He bought his way into power, sides with corporate interests over working people, and is now facing credible allegations of domestic violence that cannot be ignored.”
The Cook Political Report rates Ohio’s 7th district as a toss-up.
