Who is Randy Fine, the US lawmaker who suggested he’d ‘pick dogs over Muslims’?

There has been a rising amount of hate against Muslims in Western countries, but it has recently reached rock bottom. The latest instance is US Congressman Randy Fine, from Florida, who compared Muslims to dogs on social media.

Fine later issued a clarification over his statement, sharing a screenshot of a message from Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani for context. But his comment had already done the damage, prompting Democrats, civil rights groups, and others to call for his resignation and disciplinary action against him.

Let us take a look at the incident.

Who is Randy Fine?

Randy Fine is a Republican member of the US House of Representatives from Florida. Born on April 20, 1974, in Tucson, Arizona, he was raised in Kentucky. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and later completed an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Prior to his political career, he worked at McKinsey & Company before moving into academic and executive positions, including roles in the casino gaming sector.

He began his political career in 2016, serving several terms in the Florida House of Representatives. After being elected to the Florida Senate in 2024, he served briefly before winning a special election to Congress in April 2025 to succeed Mike Waltz. The 51-year-old now represents Florida’s sixth congressional district and sits on House committees, including Foreign Affairs and Education.

Randy Fine is known for his pro-Israel views and for regularly using social media to weigh in on foreign policy and cultural debates.

Last May, he addressed Rashida Tlaib, who had accused the Israeli government of starving Gazans, saying she should “tell your fellow Muslim terrorists to release the hostages and surrender. Until then, #StarveAway.”

Then in July, Fine also termed Representative Ilhan Omar, a “terrorist” after she appeared to refer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as a war criminal. “I’m sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists,” he wrote online, referring to Omar. “The only shame is that you serve in Congress.”

What did Fine say?

Fine has been under fire since he wrote a post on social media platform X, comparing compared Muslims to dogs. In the post he wrote, "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one." The post garnered more than 40 million views since it was published.

Since he posted the comment, several Democrats and social activists have condemned it. It also led to public outrage over his comments.

Shortly afterward, he shared a photo from Nerdeen Kiswani, the co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime for reference. In the post, she characterised dogs as “unclean” and stated that New York City was “coming to Islam.”

In a follow-up post, Randy Fine wrote that the person was “the leader of one of the key mainstream Muslim groups that supported Zohran Mamdani,” referring to New York City’s new mayor.

In an email to NBC News, Kiswani said her original comment was intended as “satire,” stemming from a “hyper-local NYC conversation” about dog waste following the recent snowstorm, adding that she was “satirising Islamophobic hysteria portraying Zohran Mamdani’s mayoralty as a societal takeover.”

This is not the first time that Fine has bashed Muslims. He has previously drawn criticism for comments that included calling for the mass expulsion of Muslims from the US, labelling Muslims as "terrorists," and mocking the starvation and killing of Palestinians in Gaza, among other statements.

What have been the reactions?

Social activists and Democrats have condemned Fine's anti-Muslim comments. Democrat Gavin Newsom demanded his resignation while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries labelled him an "Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot."

"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 behaviour. Republican leaders must hold this so-called Member of Congress accountable," Hakeem Jeffries told news website NBC News.

Arizona Democrat Yassamin Ansari called for House Speaker Mike Johnson to "reprimand him immediately," adding that he's "repeatedly dehumanised Muslims without consequence."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on leaders from both parties in Congress to condemn the remarks, saying his resignation was “long overdue.”

With inputs from agencies