Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are calling for an apology after Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, seemingly referred to Rep. Ilhan Omar as a “Muslim terrorist.”
“The unhinged, racist and Islamophobic comments made by Randy Fine about Rep. Ilhan Omar are bigoted and disgusting,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar wrote in a joint statement released Wednesday, which also referenced a pair of recent shootings in Minnesota that claimed the life of one Democratic state lawmaker and injured another.
“We are just weeks removed from heinous acts of political violence targeting elected officials in Minnesota for assassination,” they added. “This is an incredibly difficult time for our nation and Members of Congress should be solving problems for the American people, not inciting violence.”
The back-and-forth began Tuesday evening when Omar criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Omar, who in the past has been critical of Trump’s support for Netanyahu, noted that this was Netanyahu’s third visit and said “war criminals should not be welcome by any president or Congress.”
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I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists.
— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) July 9, 2025
The only shame is that you serve in Congress. https://t.co/0BZgRvXd1E
Fine replied with an attack on Omar’s allegiance to the United States, suggesting that the Somali-born congresswoman was in league with “Muslim terrorists.”
“I’m sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists,” Fine wrote in a reply. “The only shame is that you serve in Congress.”
Fine also repeated his sentiments in an X quote containing the same statement.
In a post Wednesday evening on X, Omar thanked Democratic leadership for its statement of support.
“Anti-Muslim bigotry should have no place in Congress,” Omar posted. “Not only does normalizing this bigotry and violence endanger my life but all Muslims including in Fine’s own district. This type of Islamophobic language demands accountability @SpeakerJohnson.”
In an X post quoting the statement from Jeffries, Fine referred to the House Democratic Caucus as the “Hamas Caucus.”
“The Hamas Caucus is upset. Boo hoo,” Fine wrote Wednesday evening. “I guess they weren’t listening when I said the Hebrew Hammer was coming.”
“Apparently Hakeem Jefferies has no issues with Ilhan Omar calling Bibi Netanyahu a war criminal but does when I call her out for doing it,” Fine said in a follow-up post. “I came to Washington to fight this evil. Not make peace with it.”
In a statement to NOTUS, Fine said, “Democrats like Jefferies want Americans to believe that supporting Islamic terror is a fringe ideology on the American left. The reality is that it is part of their party platform.”
“They can resort to ad hominem attacks all they want, but the reality is that the Democrat party is waving the “Palestinian” flag on American soil and supporting the invasion of the United States by Muslim terrorists every single day,” he added.
Fine’s remarks are not out of step with his prior comments toward Muslim lawmakers.
During his special election campaign earlier this year, he quoted on X an endorsement for Reps. Omar and Rashida Tlaib with a post that read: “The ‘Hebrew Hammer’ is coming. @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN might consider leaving before I get there. #BombsAway.”
In May, when Tlaib urged her colleagues to speak out about Israel “starving Gaza to death,” Fine replied, “Tell your fellow Muslim terrorists to release the hostages and surrender. Until then, #StarveAway.”
In reaction to a photo of Tlaib and Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Fine also posted, “Muslim terrorists hang out together.”
According to an ethics complaint by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Fine has also encouraged “his constituents to run over people at Palestinian advocacy protests” and “called for the annihilation of the Palestinian people,” among other “egregious conduct.”
Fine has served in Congress since April, after winning a special election to fill the seat of Trump’s former national security adviser, Mike Waltz (who has since been nominated to be the administration’s ambassador to the United Nations).
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