This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy.
A judge has granted an order of protection barring Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida from contacting a former girlfriend who said he harassed and threatened her, and so far, Republican House leadership has dismissed concerns about the accusations.
On Tuesday, Judge Fred Koberlein Jr.in Florida granted a protective order against dating violence that Mills’ ex-girlfriend, Lindsey Langston, a Republican state committeewoman in Florida and the reigning Miss United States, filed for in August. Langston claimed that after she ended their relationship, Mills barraged her with harassing communications, including threatening to release intimate photos and videos of her and threatening her with violence.
Koberlein wrote in a 14-page order that Mills caused Langston “substantial emotional distress considering her professional commitments” as Miss USA.
“She described herself as being physically ill, curled in the fetal position, requiring family assistance, suffering hives, seeking professional therapy, and being prescribed Xanax and Lexapro, which she took on multiple occasions due to the Respondent’s actions,” the order said.
The judge found that Langston “does have a reasonable cause to believe that she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of another act of dating violence without an injunction being entered.”
The order, which bars Mills from contacting Langston or coming within 500 feet of her home, is in effect through January 1.
Mills, elected to the U.S. House in 2022, has been the subject of multiple controversies, including a House Ethics investigation into whether he committed campaign finance violations and entered into government contracts while serving in Congress. Mills was also investigated by police in Washington, D.C., over a domestic dispute involving another woman in February. That woman later walked back her claims, the investigation was closed, and Mills did not face charges.
At a news conference on Wednesday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he didn’t know the details of the allegations against Mills and dismissed the line of questioning.
“You’ll have to ask Representative Mills about that. I know he’s been a faithful colleague here. I know his work on the Hill, I don’t know all the details of all the individual allegations and what he’s doing in his outside life,” Johnson said. “Let’s talk about some things that are really serious.”
The U.S. House is out of session for the third week in a row as the federal government marks the 15th day of a shutdown after congressional leaders reached an impasse on funding the government.
Langston’s lawyer Bobi J. Frank told reporters Wednesday that she hopes Mills will be disciplined and sanctioned by his colleagues in Congress. House members are subject to being stripped of committee chair or leadership posts upon being charged with a felony, and face expulsion from the House if convicted, but Mills has not been charged with a crime.
House Democrats ripped Johnson and House GOP leadership for what they said was dismissiveness about intimate partner violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is recognized in October.
“Domestic violence is a serious issue in this country for women all throughout America. And the notion that House Republican leaders would dismiss the seriousness of what is clearly emerging as an untenable and frightening situation relative to Representative Mills is irresponsible,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a news conference Wednesday.
“Congress should be better than that level of dismissiveness that has been on display among my Republican colleagues,” he added.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark called the allegations against Mills “disturbing” and connected Johnson’s response to the ongoing shutdown fight, which concerns Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire this year unless Congress acts.
“It is the same way he has approached this entire health care issue,” she said. “And it is a crisis that will be felt by every single hard-working American in this country, but it is going to be felt first and hardest by women in this country.”
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, several federal agencies and programs dedicated to combating domestic violence and sex trafficking have also faced funding cuts and layoffs.
“And that message to American women, and just writing off these serious allegations against a sitting member of Congress as something frivolous and a ridiculous question speaks volumes of where they value their constituents and especially women, in this month,” Clark said.
