Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called out her congressional colleague Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) for what she called “genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official.”
Calling for Fine to be censured and stripped of committees, Ocasio-Cortez joined numerous prominent Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom in slamming Fine after the Florida Congressman posted that “if they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
Newsom wrote: “Resign now, you racist slob.”
This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official.
It should not stop shocking us that the Republican Party openly embraces this. Fine should be censured & stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize it. https://t.co/OPHd5jtM2b
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 17, 2026
Fine spoke on Newsmax about what he characterized as a Muslim threat to “our values and how we live as Americans,” asserting that a “major Muslim leader” was trying to ban dogs in New York City because “to some Muslims, it bothers them.” (See below.)
A major Muslim leader in NYC is calling for dogs to be forbidden because they “bother some Muslims.”
If Mainstream Muslims make us choose between keeping our dogs and them going home, the choice is easy. pic.twitter.com/FvaLpYE0oB
— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) February 17, 2026
One commenter summarized Fine’s comment as “a sitting US Congressman took one satirical tweet about dog poop in NYC snow and turned it into ‘choose between dogs and Muslims’.”
The “satirical tweet” that kicked off a tempest that’s outgrown its teapot was written by Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian-American activist and organizer who called dogs “unclean” and said “NYC is coming to Islam.”
Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.
— Nerdeen Kiswani (@NerdeenKiswani) February 12, 2026
In the aftermath of the stir caused by her post, which she characterized as a joke about dog poop on the sidewalks, Kiswani resigned — tongue-in-cheek — from her position as a “major Muslim leader,” the designation bestowed on her by Fine.
To whom it may concern,
Effective immediately, I am resigning from the position many of you seem convinced I hold.
While it has been an honor to apparently wield this level of imaginary authority, I believe it is time to step aside so the public may recover from the trauma of a…
— Nerdeen Kiswani (@NerdeenKiswani) February 17, 2026
Fine explained his designation of Kiswani as a “major Muslim leader” by citing her support for the successful mayoral campaign of newly elected NYC Hizzoner, Zohran Mamdani. Fine wrote: “For context, this is the leader of one of the key mainstream Muslim groups that supported Mamdani.”