Max Miller comes out against Trump waiving Russia sanctions

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) on Monday said he opposes President Trump’s waiver on Russian sanctions after striking a deal with the Kremlin to permit diesel into the U.S. and global marketplace amid the energy shortage brought on by the Iran war.

“The Administration should not waive sanctions passed by Congress to punish Russia for its brutal war of choice in Ukraine,” Miller wrote on the social platform X .

“I agree with the President that ending this war is in the US’s national interest, but we should exercise American power to pressure Russia to stop fighting, rather than buy their oil and hold our Ukrainian allies back from using their full combat potential,” Miller added.

Miller represents Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, which consists of parts of Holmes and Cuyahoga counties and all of Wayne and Medina counties. The district is also home to the city of Parma, where more than 4,000 Ukrainians live, according to Cleveland.com , an Advance Local news affiliate.

The city established a sister-city relationship with Lviv, Ukraine, the country’s de facto western capital, in 2013, the outlet reported. Five embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, moved 350 miles west from Kyiv to Lviv following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On Friday, Trump issued an executive order waiving sanctions against Russia that were part of a legislative package he signed into law last month. Waiving the sanctions and the announcement of the diesel deal to “immediately” supply 300,000 tons of diesel stirred outcry from bipartisan members of Congress.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has frequently relied on U.S. support in his war against Russian President Vladimir Putin, called the deal a “ birthday gift ” to his Russian counterpart.

Miller is seeking to be reelected in the November midterm elections. The Hill’s election partner Decision Desk HQ shows him narrowly favored to win over Democratic opponent Brian Poindexter, with a 52 percent probability of keeping his seat in Congress.

But the Ohio Republican has been embroiled in a scandal in connection with allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). The senator and other Republican lawmakers have called on Miller to resign and abandon his campaign, while many GOP lawmakers support his reelection bid .

Miller has denied these allegations , sued Emily Moreno for defamation, filed paperwork for the House Ethics Committee to open a probe into him in August and was sued by his ex-wife for allegedly publishing a nude photo of their young daughter online.

His attorney took responsibility for the photo’s release, as it was part of a Dropbox folder that was posted on X during a livestream where the lawmaker defended himself.

Miller also denied accusations of abuse from ex-girlfriend and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

In August, Trump praised Miller as a “good person” and called the allegations toward the lawmaker “a very sad thing,” especially when you know somebody so well, to be going through that.”

“He’s a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person, and I’m going to let the families figure that out,” Trump told reporters at the time, adding that he knows the families “are working on it.”