- Fine, who took office less than a year ago following a special election to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz, wrote Sunday on X: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
- On Newsmax Tuesday morning, Fine reinforced his remarks, saying, “People should know Democrats like AOC are saying ‘we are going to get rid of your dogs.’ Americans need to keep that in mind when they go and vote in November.”
- The comments quickly drew condemnation from Democrats, civil rights groups and a fellow House Republican.
What they’re saying: “This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote on X.
- “Fine should be censured & stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also called for Fine’s censure, writing: “We must call this what it is. Disgusting bigotry.”
- “His words are despicable, hateful and dangerous. He must take responsibility and resign,” Rep. Delia Ramírez (D-Ill.) posted.
House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said Johnson should “strip [Fine] of all committees and assignments and he should be forced to resign.”
The intrigue: Even some Senate Democrats weighed in on the matter, with Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) both condemning Fine’s post.
- “Randy Fine should apologize and Speaker Johnson should forcefully condemn this bigotry,” Rosen posted on X.
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), the only elected Republican to have weighed in on Fine’s remarks, told Axios: “I appreciate Randy Fine for many things, but I don’t agree with this. We should be respectful to others.”
- However, Bacon added: “You need to remember he’s frequently targeted by code pink and pro Hamas types. There’s animosity here.”
Between the lines: Despite calls from several Democrats for Johnson to take action, the speaker has not weighed in publicly on the matter.
Zoom in: Following the backlash from his colleagues, Fine posted several images of dogs with the words “Don’t tread on me,” appearing to mock critics.
- Shortly after his initial post, Fine shared a photo from Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, in which she described dogs as “unclean” and wrote that “NYC is coming to Islam.”
- Kiswani responded on X, accusing Fine and other “rabid Zionists” of mischaracterizing her comments “as an excuse to post genocidal rhetoric against Muslims.” She also told NBC News that she made the initial comment satirically.
- Fine wrote in a follow up post: “For context, this is the leader of one of the key mainstream Muslim groups that supported Mamdani,” referring to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Catch up quick: Fine has previously made controversial remarks about Muslims and Palestinians.
- An outspoken supporter of Israel, Fine has advocated the mass expulsion of American Muslims.
- He’s also said Palestinians in Gaza need to be forced into unconditional surrender — citing the Japanese surrender in WWII after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- He told Axios last year he may force a vote to expel Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), saying, “I don’t think she should be a citizen, let alone a member of Congress.”
Zoom out: The use of censure resolutions has increased sharply in recent years.
- The House only needs a simple majority to censure, and any member can force it to a vote.
- Bacon and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and introduced legislation in November to raise the threshold to a 60% majority after a string of censure efforts, but their proposal has not been brought up for a vote.