WASHINGTON, D.C. — Max Miller is not new to Washington, but he will be a new member of Congress after winning the race to represent Ohio’s 7th District.

“Ultimately, we won because we connected with the constituency,” Miller told Spectrum News in an interview on Capitol Hill last week.

The 34-year-old Republican comfortably beat his Democratic opponent, Matthew Diemer, by 11 points to win the seat in northeast Ohio.

Miller comes to Congress having worked for former President Donald Trump as a close White House aide for four years.

His connections to Capitol Hill are already paying off. He’s been elected by his fellow freshmen to represent them on the Steering Committee, which determines what committees members sit on.

Though he initially launched his campaign as a staunch Trump conservative who wanted to push out a Republican who voted to impeach Trump, Miller has adopted a bipartisan tone as he goes through new member orientation.

“We need to focus on solutions that we can bring to the American people that are actually going to help them. And that’s been the most fulfilling thing so far in these last two weeks,” he said.

Miller is supporting Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to be the next speaker of the House and he announced on Nov. 15 that he is endorsing Trump’s third run for the presidency.

In the days since giving that endorsement, Trump has called for the Constitution to be terminated, dined with antisemites, and his company was convicted of multiple counts of fraud.

Spectrum News asked Miller why he is still supporting Trump.

“The man, when he was president of this country, brought forward policies that Democrats have a hard time denying that benefited every single American,” Miller said.

He dismissed the Trump Organization being convicted of financial crimes and Trump’s statement about suspending the Constitution.

But as he prepares to become one of just two Jewish Republicans in Congress, Miller reacted to Trump having dinner with white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes alongside rapper, businessman and antisemite Kanye West.

Miller pointed to a statement he released condemning Fuentes and saying West “doesn’t need to keep walking this path.”

Miller did not mention Trump and told Spectrum News he hasn’t spoken with the former president about the dinner. He thinks Democrats deserve more scrutiny for having members who are critical of Israel.

“The Republican Party understands antisemitism, and I will be the leading voice within our conference for the Jewish people and really exposing what I think is nonsense rhetoric from the left, that continues to put the onus on us when they’re the ones who originated this rhetoric,” Miller said.

Miller continues to push the baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, but as he prepares to hold political office for the first time, he’s hoping his new constituents will see him as someone focused on issues—like securing the U.S.-Mexico border and improving the economy—not just a loyal former Trump aide.

“Yes, I will continue to support the man, but I am my own person,” Miller told Spectrum News. “And throughout this campaign, a lot of people—yes, I am very close to President Trump—but they have painted me almost like him. My name is Max. My name isn’t Donald Trump and nor was I the previous president of the United States. And people within our district should see the body of work that we’re going to do on their behalf and hopefully look at us in that way.” 

Miller will get sworn-in on Jan. 3. 

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story had the wrong age for Max Miller. This has been corrected. (Dec. 14, 2022)