Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) is facing censure and calls for his resignation from some Democrats after he wrote a social media post suggesting that he values dogs more than Muslims.
Fine, who is Jewish, wrote on social media on Saturday that “if they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
The Florida congressman said he was writing in response to a comment from Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the anti-Israel protest group Within Our Lifetime, weighing in on a debate in New York City about dog litter.
“Finally, New York City is coming to Islam,” Kiswani wrote on Feb. 12. “Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.”
Kiswani later said that she was joking and denied claims from Fine that she was a “key” adviser to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Democrats slammed Fine’s posts and accused him of anti-Muslim bigotry.
“Randy Fine is a disgrace to the United States Congress,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stated. “He is an Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot.”
Jeffries did not call for specific action to be taken against Fine. He said instead that Republicans should hold him “accountable” and that “Democrats will not let the racist and bigoted behavior of Randy Fine go unchecked.”
Other Democrats called for Fine to be censured in the House or for him to quit.
“If they force us to choose between calling for the resignation of imbecilic bigots or normalizing hateful religious incitement, that’s not a tough one,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote on Wednesday. “This fanatic should spare his constituents any further embarrassment and resign.”
Raskin was one of several Jewish Democrats to make similar statements.
“This is not only an unacceptable and revolting Islamophobic comment coming from anyone, much less a member of Congress, but it is incredibly damaging to Jews trying to combat antisemitism and unify against hate of all kinds,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) wrote.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and the Jewish Democratic Council of America are among the Democrats who have pushed for the House to censure Fine.
Fine’s post is not the first time he has been accused of bigotry against Muslims. He has repeatedly labeled Muslim politicians as terrorists, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), as well as Mamdani.
The congressman also called his 2025 election opponent a “post 9/11 Muslim terror convert.” At a congressional hearing in December, Fine said of “mainstream Muslims” that “I don’t know how you make peace with those who seek your destruction. I think you destroy them first.”
Fine has not backed down from Saturday’s comment about choosing between dogs and Muslims and has repeated the notion that Muslims are seeking to kill American pets.
“If mainstream Muslims make us choose between keeping our dogs and them going home, the choice is easy,” Fine said. (Kiswani, who wrote the first post about dogs, is a U.S. citizen.)
“Dog is god spelled backwards,” he wrote in another post on Wednesday morning. “Perhaps that’s why they want us to give them up.”
