House Democratic leaders are calling on Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine to apologize after he made inflammatory remarks online suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is a terrorist. The comments have been widely condemned as racist and Islamophobic.
In a rare joint statement on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) denounced Fine’s remarks as “unhinged, racist and Islamophobic,” calling them “bigoted and disgusting.”
“We are just weeks removed from heinous acts of political violence targeting elected officials in Minnesota for assassination,” the leaders said, referencing recent threats against Omar and other Minnesota Democrats. “This is an incredibly difficult time for our nation, and Members of Congress should be solving problems for the American people—not inciting violence. Randy Fine must apologize immediately.”
Fine, who won a special election in April to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz, ignited controversy Tuesday night with a post on X (formerly Twitter). Reacting to Omar’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—whom she included in a list of “war criminals”—Fine wrote, “I’m sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists. The only shame is that you serve in Congress.”
Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, has long been a vocal critic of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. She was among the officials named in a hit list allegedly compiled by a Minnesota man charged with murdering a sheriff’s deputy in a politically motivated shooting spree last month.
Jackie Rogers, a spokesperson for Omar, responded sharply: “Fine is a dangerous, hateful man whose only purpose in Congress thus far has been advocating for nuking Gaza, celebrating the death of children, and calling anyone who disagrees with his genocidal mindset a terrorist.”
Fine responded to the backlash with another post on X, saying: “The Hamas Caucus is upset. Boo hoo.”
