Hakeem Jeffries slams Randy Fine’s Islamophobic rhetoric

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Congress must not tolerate U.S. Rep. Randy Fine’s hateful rhetoric.

“Political violence, xenophobia and hate crimes against the Muslim community are on the rise,” Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a statement. “House Democrats will not let the racist and bigoted behavior of Randy Fine go unchecked. Accountability is coming to all of these sick extremists when the gavels change hands in November, if not sooner.”

The strong condemnation of Fine came a couple days after a social media post in which the Atlantic Coast Republican said he preferred Muslims to dogs.

“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine posted on his official X account.

That controversial post followed criticism of Nerdeen Kiswani, a New York activist who has questioned keeping dogs as pets in the city.

Fine has since defended the post, casting it as a broader opposition to Sharia law. “There are 57 countries in the world where you can live under Sharia law,” he posted. “If you want that, go to THEM. America will not become the 58th.”

But the comments drew criticism from the Left and Right, with conservative commentators like Megyn Kelly criticizing it.

GOP Primary opponent Charles Gambaro also said Fine should leave Congress. “Our residents deserve a representative that puts their interest before his own,” he said.

Another Republican opponent, Aaron Baker, suggested the post by Fine was also insincere.

“Randy Fine has never been seen with a dog. Not once,” Baker posted. “Pretending to be a pet lover for political convenience is betrayal of constituent trust. You use our family members to rile emotions. … How about actually having an ounce of love in your shrunken heart?”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said congressional leadership should demand his resignation.

While Jeffries didn’t go that far, he said Speaker Mike Johnson should not remain silent on the language.

“Randy Fine is a disgrace to the United States Congress. He is an Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot,” Jeffries said.

“It is unacceptable that Mike Johnson and House Republicans continue to remain silent. Their casual acceptance of hateful and divisive language enables this out-of-control behavior. Republican leaders must hold this so-called Member of Congress accountable.”

Fine responded on social media, as he has for a couple days, with illustrations of dogs on a Gadsden flag. But this time, he replicated imagery used by President Donald Trump in the past to needle Jeffries, depicting the Democratic leader in a Mexican sombrero.

“He’s just jealous of our new dog, Hakeem,” Fine posted.