By Morgan Phillips, Congressional Reporter on Capitol Hill for Dailymail.Com
9:10 p.m. May 16, 2024, updated 10:38 a.m. May 17, 2024
After 12 years of marriage and less than two years into his congressional career, Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia has filed for divorce from his oncologist wife, Dr. Debra Miller, submitted.
The lawsuit was filed May 3 by McCormick. A temporary restraining order has also been filed, DailyMail.com exclusively reports.
McCormick, 55, and Miller, his second wife, have seven children together and live in Suwanee, Georgia. When asked about the reasons for the divorce, Miller texted DailyMail.com: “I'm sure he won't be open.”
Capitol Hill insiders say McCormick often behaved overly friendly toward a Republican House member, Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas.
A GOP member told DailyMail.com that he had seen McCormick and Van Duyne, 53, “holding hands under the table” at the Republican Study Committee's weekly luncheon for the past three to four months and saw him “grab her back.” ' on the House floor during votes.
Two eyewitnesses said they saw him and Beth holding hands and one observed it as the two were about to cast their votes.
After 12 years of marriage and less than two years into his congressional career, Georgia Republican Rep. Richard McCormick has filed for divorce from his oncologist wife, Dr. Debra Miller, submitted. Capitol Hill insiders say McCormick was often seen being overly friendly with Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas (above).
And during the State of the Union address on March 7, the two could be seen sitting together and laughing as they watched Biden's speech.
McCormick even reached out and gently squeezed Van Duyne's arm in a tender moment between the two that was caught on camera.
When asked if the divorce involved an alleged affair with a colleague, his soon-to-be-ex-wife Miller replied: “You should ask Rich and his colleague.”
A third witness told DailyMail.com he saw Van Duyne holding on to McCormick's arm as he left the Longworth office building late at night.
Van Duyne has been divorced from her former husband of 17 years since 2012. They have two children together.
Asked about the cozy behavior and the divorce, a McCormick spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “Congressman McCormick and Dr. Miller has been separated for quite some time. “He has kept this secret and will continue to keep his personal life out of the media spotlight.”
A representative for Van Duyne declined to comment to DailyMail.com.
McCormick and his wife were not pictured together until the Christmas holidays. But he notably didn't mention her in a recent Mother's Day tribute on X.
McCormick's Facebook account says the couple married on August 16, 2011.
McCormick spent over 20 years as a pilot in both the Marine Corps and Navy and was also an emergency room physician at Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia.
He has been in his first term in Congress since January 2023. He ran unsuccessfully for Georgia's 7th District in 2020 against Democrat Carolyn Bordeaux.
In November, McCormick was the lead author of a vote of no confidence in Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for “spreading false narratives about the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.”
Van Duyne is a Republican congresswoman from Texas. McCormick says he and his wife have been separated “for quite some time.” They were only pictured together during the Christmas holidays. McCormick is in his first term in Congress, having joined in January 2023. McCormick's Facebook account says the couple married on August 16, 2011. The case was filed by McCormick on May 3. A mutual injunction has also been filed. McCormick, a Marine and Army veteran, came to Congress in early 2023 with his wife, an oncologist, and their seven children. When asked if the divorce involved an alleged affair with a co-worker, Miller replied, “You should.” Ask Rich and his co-worker.
Shortly afterward, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who also filed an unsuccessful Tlaib report, accused McCormick of being physically aggressive toward her.
Sources told CNN that during a private meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson in December, Greene claimed that her male colleague “grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her” and asked the speaker to address the issue.
“I understand why there would be a lot of raw emotion after the censure vote, considering her censure motion was filed and mine passed.” “My intention was to encourage Rep. Greene with a kind gesture,” McCormick said.
He denied being physically aggressive towards her.
