Max Miller Corruption & Ethics Ohio

Max Miller Promised to Cut 'the Fat' Out of Washington. Then He Ran a Radio Ad Praising Himself — Paid For by Taxpayers.

On August 28, Miller's congressional office aired a radio ad of a constituent thanking 'Congressman Miller' — 'paid for by official funds.' It ran a week before the pre-election blackout, three weeks after he said he'd loan his own campaign $1 million.

MAGA Report Cards · Sep 25, 2026

Max Miller has spent years telling Ohioans he'd hunt down government waste. On August 28, 2026, taxpayers paid for a radio ad telling them what a great job Max Miller does.

The ad, aired by Miller's congressional office, features a woman describing how he helped with an immigration case after her husband died. "Congressman Miller stepped in and never gave up," she says. Then Miller comes on: "I'm Congressman Max Miller. When our constituents need help navigating federal agencies, my office is here to help you every step of the way."

It closes with the line that matters: "Paid for by official funds authorized by the House of Representatives."

Not his campaign. You. TiffinOhio.net reported the ad on September 24.

One week before the cutoff

House rules let members spend their office budgets telling constituents about their work — mail, digital ads, TV, radio, texts. But 60 days before an election, members on the ballot have to stop sending unsolicited mass messages. This year, that blackout started September 4.

The House Communications Standards Commission, which signs off on these messages, approved Miller's radio ad on August 19. His office ran it on August 28 — seven days before the blackout.

Nothing in the record shows Miller broke the franking rules. The commission specifically approved the ad. But "allowed" isn't the same as "right," and that's the problem with these ads: they let an incumbent put his own name and voice on the air with taxpayer money right before an election.

His Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, can't do that. Only the person already holding the seat can.

He'd just promised $1 million of his own money

The timing gets worse. On August 6, Miller said he'd loan his reelection campaign $1 million, in two $500,000 installments. He did that after fellow Republicans called on him to step aside over domestic abuse allegations, which he denies. "I am invested in this election in every way and I will invest the resources into my campaign to win," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Twenty-two days later, a radio spot praising Congressman Max Miller hit the air. His campaign account didn't pay for it. Taxpayers did.

Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee announced on August 4 that it is reviewing the allegations against him — a probe Miller asked for himself.

"Cutting the fat"

Here's how Miller talks about your money when he's not the one spending it.

In February 2023, on Fox Business, he said Republicans would be "looking over every single aspect of where we can be in cutting the fat out of the federal government," warning that spending would put the country "into an oblivion."

In October 2024, he promised to fight inflation by "prioritizing responsible spending."

This February, pushing a bill aimed at leftover COVID-era unemployment money, he said it would "protect taxpayers" and "close the door on waste and abuse."

Six months later, taxpayers were paying for an ad about how helpful Max Miller is.

He's not the only one

Both parties' incumbents use these ads. But the sums have gotten big. Axios found House members had spent nearly $1.4 million in official funds on advertising this cycle by April. In the 2024 cycle, House offices spent $44 million on taxpayer-funded mail and another $19 million on other official messages.

We've tracked other Republicans doing it. Colorado's Gabe Evans spent more than $320,000 of office money on ads — much of it through the same firm his campaign pays. Georgia's Mike Collins spent over $400,000 on taxpayer-funded TV ads that look almost identical to his campaign spots.

Miller is one more Republican who talks about cutting waste while spending public money to promote himself in an election year. This is also the congressman whose team threatened TV stations for running his opponent's ad.

What the record shows

On August 28, 2026 — seven days before the pre-election blackout on official mass messages — Max Miller's congressional office aired a radio ad of a constituent praising him, "paid for by official funds." It ran three weeks after he said he'd put $1 million of his own money into his campaign, and after years of promising to cut "the fat" out of federal spending.