(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The GOP has a creep problem in Congress [1] ['Emily Singer'] Date: 2026-08-05 For House Republicans hoping to rid their caucus of scandal-tarred lawmakers accused of heinous acts of domestic violence and sexual harassment, the past 24 hours were a decidedly mixed bag. Republicans got good news when Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) announced in the wee hours of Wednesday morning that he was dropping his reelection bid, after the House Ethics Committee released a report laying out the nauseating details of how Edwards inappropriately hit on two young female aides in his congressional office. “After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” Edwards wrote in a 3:30 AM post on X, less than a day after the Ethics Committee recommended Edwards be censured for his conduct. “I will complete my current term. Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life. Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.” After Edwards dropped out, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said his gesture doesn’t go far enough, adding that even with him out of the race they will still contest the seat. “After months of denials and deflections, Chuck Edwards has still only taken a half-measure of accountability—North Carolinians deserve better. If Edwards is unfit to run for re-election, he is unfit to serve in Congress. The decision to serve out the remainder of his term is not for North Carolina’s working families, it is clearly designed to protect House Republicans’ ever dwindling majority,” DCCC spokesperson Madison Andrus said in a statement. “For months, North Carolina Republicans stood by and allowed Edwards to get away with a long, demonstrated pattern of abuse. Whichever GOP lapdog they try to drop in Edwards’ place will own the consequences.” Rep. Chuck Edwards talks during a town hall in Asheville, N.C. on March 13, 2025. AP Edwards’ decision to end his bid should help Republicans hold on to his heavily Republican seat, which Donald Trump carried by 9.5 points in 2024, according to data from the Downballot. Edwards’ scandal made him more vulnerable than a generic Republican. Yet given Trump’s sinking approval, even among Republican voters, his seat could still flip this fall if the blue wave is as big as Democrats’ special election overperformance suggests it will be. However, as relieved as Republicans may feel that Edwards dropped his bid, they were likely even more disturbed by Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller’s disastrous interview on CNN, in which he vowed to stay in his race as he denied the horrific domestic violence allegations levied against him by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. 🤯 Rep. Max Miller's interview with Jake Tapper is an utter trainwreck 🤯 Miller went on CNN to try to push back against credible accusations that he abused his ex-wife and child, but he only made things worse for himself. He threatened his ex-wife's father (Sen. Bernie Moreno)… pic.twitter.com/BGOIcKIdKx — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026 “My daughter is going to grow up one day, and she’s going to see all of this, and she’s not going to see that her father caved to political and social media pressures for something that he never did,” Miller told CNN’s Jake Tapper as far as why he has no plans to bow out. Miller’s interview provided his Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter, with a mountain of ammunition to use in campaign ads. Tapper asked Miller why a nude photo of his two-year-old daughter was released in a trove of supposed “evidence” Miller published online over the weekend to claim he did not abuse his ex-wife or break his daughter’s collarbone. Miller replied: “I wouldn’t say that it’s shockingly reckless.” “My attorney took full responsibility,” Miller said of the photo’s release. “There was never any intent to do that.” Tapper also asked Miller about the last time Miller used illegal drugs, as Miller was once caught with ecstasy in his system when he was arrested for drunk driving. “I mean, the last time—I don’t—I would have to say, I don’t know, several years ago. I don’t have a timeframe,” Miller replied. Oof. And Miller also attacked his former father-in-law—who happens to be Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno—saying that Moreno remained quiet about the domestic violence allegations because Moreno feared it would lead to “a deeply and [personally] embarrassing matter” to become public. whoa — Max Miller on CNN threatens Sen. Bernie Moreno with "exposing a deeply and personal embarrassing matter" after Moreno called for his resignation pic.twitter.com/wLHVce0lgD — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026 An unnamed GOP strategist reacted to CNN’s Miller interview by saying, “I mean what the absolute fuck was that?” What in the absolute fuck, indeed. Miller then continued his media tour on Wednesday morning, telling the right-wing outlet Newsmax that he is not the one who is hurting their daughter, but rather his ex-wife is. “It’s sad to see that the only person this affects is our daughter, someone I don’t think she cares about very much,” Miller said of his ex-wife. And he said that he was inspired by Trump’s refusal to step aside in the wake of damning allegations. “When we go back to 2015 and 2016, and people in the media looked at President Donald J. Trump, and everyone came out with allegations. Dozens of women, dozens of crazy allegations, dozens of nasty criminal misconduct. And you know what he did? He stayed in the fight,” Miller told Newsmax. Miller’s domestic violence scandal—as well as his incomprehensibly bad reaction to it—imperils his Republican-leaning seat in the Buckeye State. Still, Speaker Mike Johnson refused to call on Miller to drop out of the race, instead telling Politico that the House Ethics Committee “process” should play out before making any decisions. House Speaker Mike Johnson broke days of silence on the domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller in an interview with The Conversation. He told our @DashaBurns the claims are "serious" but insisted the House Ethics Committee process should run its course. pic.twitter.com/utuScRopJV — POLITICO (@politico) August 5, 2026 Of course, the House Ethics Committee will take weeks if not months to conduct their investigation and release their findings. And that will be way past the Wednesday deadline for Miller to drop out so Republicans can replace him on the ballot. If he loses, Republicans will only have themselves to blame. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/5/800079989/elections/the-gop-has-a-creep-problem-in-congress/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/