Calls grow among Democrats for anti-Muslim lawmaker Randy Fine to resign

Anti-Muslim Republican lawmaker Randy Fine is facing calls to resign by some Democrats who believe that perhaps this time, he may have gone too far.

On Sunday, Fine posted to X: "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one."

Fine’s message came in response to a post by Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani - which she later clarified was a joke - saying that New York City was “coming to Islam” and waking up to the “uncleanliness” of dogs, referencing a religious concept in some Islamic interpretations.⁠
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Fine, who is fiercely pro-Israeli, has previously faced condemnation and calls to resign from Democratic lawmakers, civil rights groups and Jewish organisations over his rhetoric toward Muslims and Palestinians.

Prior to the latest post in question, Fine had also written that “Palestinian is a synonym for evil".
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California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna echoed growing condemnation from his progressive caucus colleagues, writing: “We must call this what it is. Disgusting bigotry. Fine must be censured. It’s about morality and decency, not politics."

Any member of the House of Representatives is able to force a vote to censure another member. Only a simple majority is needed. It is effectively a formal statement of disapproval and is a symbolic move. 

In November 2023, Congress voted to censure the only Palestinian-American lawmaker, Rashida Tlaib, because she called Israel an "apartheid" state and said it was carrying out a "genocide" in Gaza. 

"This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official," New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Fine's comments on X. 

"Fine should be censured & stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize."

The current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, California Governor Gavin Newsom, wrote on X: "Resign now, you racist slob."

Fine is a member of the newly-formed "Sharia Free America Caucus", which was established by some Republican lawmakers late last year. It's unclear where Islamic Sharia Law is being established in the US, given the constitutional separation of church and state. 

History of Islamophobia

In September 2024, Fine faced a wave of anger and accusations of Islamophobia after celebrating the death of Aysenur Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish-American activist who was fatally shot by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank. 

"Throw rocks, get shot. One less #MuslimTerrorist. #FireAway," Fine wrote on X in response to a post announcing Eygi's killing. 

Eygi was shot in the head by Israeli forces during a peaceful protest against illegal Israeli settlements near Ramallah. Eyewitnesses said she was unarmed and "standing there doing absolutely nothing with one other woman" when she was shot.

Qatar's US ambassador rebukes Congressman Randy Fine after Laura Loomer interview

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In May 2025, in response to the killing of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, DC, Fine suggested on Fox News that Gaza should be “nuked" like Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. 

When asked whether the fatal shooting should impact Gaza ceasefire talks, Fine suggested the enclave should be eliminated in response, just like the Japanese cities during WWII. 

"That needs to be the same here," Fine said. 

In June, top Democrats in the House condemned Fine for what they called "racist" and "Islamophobic" remarks targeting Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Fine’s inflammatory comments came in response to Omar’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US, as Israel carried out its genocide in Gaza.

Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

"I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists," Fine wrote on X, directly addressing Omar, one of the few Muslim women in Congress.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar swiftly denounced Fine’s remarks.

"The unhinged, racist and Islamophobic comments made by Randy Fine about Rep. Ilhan Omar are bigoted and disgusting," they said in a joint statement.

But no further action was taken. 

Omar thanked her Democratic colleagues for their support on X, while Fine doubled down, dismissing the backlash and accusing critics of sympathising with extremism.

Qatar

In October, Qatar’s ambassador to the US sent a rare, direct rebuke to Fine for Islamophobic and anti-Qatar comments he made during an interview with far-right social media personality Laura Loomer.

Fine falsely claimed that Qatar “funds most of the institutions that are damaging” the US, and alleged it was “responsible" for protests over Israel’s genocide in Gaza that he claimed were “antisemitic”.

“Qatar condemns antisemitism, and all forms of religious or ethnic intolerance. Qatar had no role in the recent unrest on US college campuses, and there is no evidence to the contrary,” Qatar’s ambassador to Washington, Meshal al-Thani, wrote in a letter to Fine that was shared by Loomer on Sunday on X. 

The "unrest" on college campuses refers to the 2024 wave of protests against Israel's genocide that began at Columbia University and spread around the country. 

Fine assumed office last year, filling a seat left vacant by President Donald Trump's current US ambassador to the United Nations and former national security adviser, Mike Waltz. 

Trump full-throatedly endorsed Fine at the time. 

He is next up for re-election in November's midterms, assuming he wins the Republican primary in his Florida district that is slated for August.