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rashida tlaib
Rights Group Demands Democrats Push to Censure Randy Fine Over Islamophobic Attacks
"This is far from the first time he and other members of Congress have engaged in such dangerous anti-Muslim rhetoric," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Jul 11, 2025
The largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States on Thursday called for a censure vote over Rep. Randy Fine's latest Islamophobic attacks on progressive Muslim lawmakers—and noting that the Democratic Party's tepid response to Islamophobia has fostered an environment where politicians from both sides of the aisle seem comfortable expressing anti-Muslim bigotry.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued an action alert, urging voters to pressure their Democratic representatives in the House to support a censure vote against Fine (R-Fla.), who responded Tuesday night to Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Islamophobic remarks that have become commonplace for the first-term congressman.
"I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists," said Fine after Omar said it was "shameful" for Congress and the Trump administration to welcome Netanyahu's third visit to Washington, D.C. this year.
He doubled down on the comments Thursday night in an interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, saying that "when you adopt the policies that Ilhan Omar has adopted, when you support Hamas in the way that she has, you're supporting terrorism."
Omar has not expressed support for Hamas and unequivocally condemned the group's attack on Israel in October 2023.
Fine also called Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and New York City mayoral candidate and state Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-36) "Muslim terrorists" last week.
CAIR said in a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that it welcomed a statement released by Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) a day after Fine posted the attack against Omar on the social media platform X. In their statement, the Democratic leaders called Fine's comments "unhinged, racist, and Islamophobic" as well as "bigoted and disgusting," and demanded an apology—but made no mention of formally condemning him through a House censure vote.
"We appreciate the joint statement," wrote Robert McCaw, director of CAIR's government affairs department, and Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, the group's advocacy arm. "However, we must be honest: Rep. Fine will never apologize, this is far from the first time he and other members of Congress have engaged in such dangerous anti-Muslim rhetoric, and our community has been deeply concerned by the House leadership's failure to consistently and strongly counter various other attacks."
That failure, Elkarra and McCaw suggested, has allowed anti-Muslim views to fester within both the Republican and Democratic parties—as evidenced by other recent comments by lawmakers.
CAIR pointed to Rep. Brian Mast's (R-Fla.) statement on the House floor in November 2023—in the first weeks of Israel's U.S.-backed assault on civilians in Gaza—that "there are very few Palestinian civilians." While Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) proposed censuring Mast, CAIR noted that House leaders—who continue to insist that Israel's killing of more than 57,000 Palestinians has been the result of attacks targeting Hamas and that Israel is acting in self defense—"never spoke up against Rep. Mast's remarks."
The letter also noted Rep. Brandon Gill's (R-Texas) "hateful" remarks about Mamdani in late June, after the progressive lawmaker stunned the political establishment by winning the Democratic mayoral primary. Gill criticized Mamdani for the common South Asian cultural practice of eating with his hands, saying that "civilized people in America don't eat like this"—expressing bigotry not only toward the mayoral candidate himself but also millions of people in the U.S. whose families are from parts of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
Republican lawmakers are not alone in expressing Islamophobic, xenophobic bigotry, CAIR emphasized, pointing to Rep. Josh Gottheimer's (D-N.J.) reported comment in a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting in October 2023 that Muslim members of Congress were excluded from a vigil for victims of Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's attacks on Gaza "because they're all guilty." Some lawmakers reported that Gottheimer's exact words were, "They should feel guilty."
Democratic leaders did not condemn Gottheimer's comments.
"When such sentiments go unchallenged by Democratic caucus leadership, they further normalize the dehumanization of Muslim Americans at a time of rising hate and violence," said Elkarra and McCaw, who noted that CAIR received 8,658 complaints of anti-Muslim attacks and bias last year—the highest number since it began tracking civil rights violations.
Although a censure vote in the Republican-controlled House would likely fail, wrote Elkarra and McCaw, "the introduction and advocacy for the resolution will send a message that House Democratic leadership takes bigotry seriously and that no member of Congress can smear and threaten Muslim and Palestinian members of Congress without facing consequences"—with the message hopefully getting not only to Fine but all federal lawmakers.
Zeteo journalist Prem Thakker reported that as of Thursday, five Democrats had signaled they would support a censure vote: Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.).
The latter three lawmakers said they would vote to censure Fine after Zeteo contacted them; Ryan, Torres, and Goldman were among 22 Democrats who voted in favor of censuring Tlaib in 2023 for her use of the phrase "from the river to the sea"—a call for Palestinian liberation from the Israeli government's illegal occupation.
Thakker emphasized that the stark difference between the response to Tlaib's and Fine's comments from both political parties "is not just about hypocrisy or consistency." He wrote:
On one hand, Tlaib was punished for warning of the mass suffering that would come to her people, and pleading for the government she is part of not to be complicit in it.
She wasn't listened to. And then 2 million of her people were displaced. More than 50,000 were murdered.
On the other hand, Fine has thus far been unpunished by the same people who castigated Tlaib, while he has vilified an entire religion and demonized his colleagues—all under the flag of cheering for that same genocidal violence that has afflicted the people Tlaib was trying to defend.
The unequal treatment is doubly so, given that one member's humanity is punished while another's inhumanity is tolerated, even celebrated.
In their letter, Elkarra and McCaw urged Democratic leaders to publicly affirm their support and solidarity with all Muslim members of Congress and ensure Capitol Police is providing them with sufficient security and to "commit to institutional measures to combat Islamophobia in Congress."
"This moment is a defining moral test for the Democratic Party in Congress," said CAIR. "No member should endure slander, incitement, or threats without a strong defense from their leadership. This moment will be remembered."
"American Muslims are watching," the group added. "So are millions who believe that justice and safety must be defended for all, not only for some. The choice before your caucus is whether to meet this moment with courage or allow hate to go unchallenged."
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'Yes, You Are,' Tlaib Tells Lawmaker Who Said Republicans Aren't 'Little Bitches' Doing Trump's Bidding
"This budget betrayal is the largest cut to Medicaid and food assistance in history to give billionaires a tax break," said the Michigan Democrat.
Jul 02, 2025
Progressive Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday clapped back at one of her Republican colleagues who suggested that the GOP effort to pass the so-called Big Beautiful Bill this week isn't in response to a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has set a July 4 deadline.
“The president of the United States didn't give us an assignment. We're not a bunch of little bitches around here, OK? I'm a member of Congress. I represent almost 800,000 Wisconsinites," Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) told journalists near the back entrance to the House of Representatives chamber, according to Punchbowl News' Kenzie Nguyen.
Responding to Van Orden's claims on the social media platform X, Tlaib (D-Mich.) simply said, "Yes, he did, and yes, you are."
The Michigan Democrat also released a video explaining to constituents why she is voting "hell no" on the package, which would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and strip an estimated 17 million Americans of their health insurance over the next decade while giving trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the ultrarich and corporations.
Tlaib wasn't the only House Democrat to notice the Republican's remarks. A fellow Wisconsinite, Congressman Mark Pocan, asked his followers on X, "Do you think Derrick Van Orden is right... that Congress is not a bunch of 'little bitches'?"
According to Politico's Samuel Benson and Mike DeBonis, Van Orden's comment came in the context of confirming he would vote for the budget reconciliation package, despite some critiques. The congressman reportedly said: "So this bill will pass. Am I happy about everything? No, but there's a difference between compromise and capitulation. We're not capitulating. We're compromising."
His remarks to reporters, and the backlash, came as the House considered a version of the megabill passed by the Senate on Tuesday, with help from Vice President JD Vance. GOP leaders in the lower chamber are struggling to get it past a procedural hurdle due to opposition from Republican fiscal hawks—plus all Democrats, who oppose steep cuts to the social safety net.
To protest the Republican effort to send the bill to Trump's desk by Independence Day, House Democrats on Wednesday formed a procedural conga line offering an amendment that would block cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.
Multiple Democrats also took to the House floor to rail against the package, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who declared that "this bill is a deal with the devil. It explodes our national debt, it militarizes our entire economy, and it strips away healthcare and basic dignity of the American people. For what? To give Elon Musk a tax break and billionaires the greedy taking of our nation. We cannot stand for it, and we will not support it."
"You should be ashamed," Ocasio-Cortez told the chamber's Republicans.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Wednesday, progressives outside of Congress are also working to block the bill. Advocacy organizations, including Indivisible, are urging Americans to call and email House Republicans and pressure them to oppose the package. The phone number for the House switchboard is 202-224-3121.
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'We Cannot Be Silent': Tlaib Leads 19 US Lawmakers Demanding Israel Stop Starving Gaza
"This current blockade is starving Palestinian civilians in violation of international law, and the militarization of food will not help."
Jun 30, 2025
As the death toll from Israel's forced starvation of Palestinians continues to rise amid the ongoing U.S.-backed genocidal assault and siege of the Gaza Strip, Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Monday led 18 congressional colleagues in a letter demanding that the Trump administration push for an immediate cease-fire, an end to the Israeli blockade, and a resumption of humanitarian aid into the embattled coastal enclave.
"We are outraged at the weaponization of humanitarian aid and escalating use of starvation as a weapon of war by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people in Gaza," Tlaib (D-Mich.)—the only Palestinian American member of Congress—and the other lawmakers wrote in their letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "For over three months, Israeli authorities have blocked nearly all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, fueling mass starvation and suffering among over 2 million people. This follows over 600 days of bombardment, destruction, and forced displacement, and nearly two decades of siege."
"According to experts, 100% of the population is now at risk of famine, and nearly half a million civilians, most of them children, are facing 'catastrophic' conditions of 'starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels,'" the legislators noted. "These actions are a direct violation of both U.S. and international humanitarian law, with devastating human consequences."
Gaza officials have reported that hundreds of Palestinians—including at least 66 children—have died in Gaza from malnutrition and lack of medicine since Israel ratcheted up its siege in early March. Earlier this month, the United Nations Children's Fund warned that childhood malnutrition was "rising at an alarming rate," with 5,119 children under the age of 5 treated for the life-threatening condition in May alone. Of those treated children, 636 were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, the most lethal form of the condition.
Meanwhile, nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 others have been injured as Israeli occupation forces carry out near-daily massacres of desperate people seeking food and other humanitarian aid at or near distribution sites run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Israel Defense Forces officers and troops have said that they were ordered to shoot and shell aid-seeking Gazans, even when they posed no threat.
"This is not aid," the lawmakers' letter argues. "UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has warned that, under the GHF, 'aid distribution has become a death trap.' We cannot allow this to continue."
"We strongly oppose any efforts to dismantle the existing U.N.-led humanitarian coordination system in Gaza, which is ready to resume operations immediately once the blockade is lifted," the legislators wrote. "Replacing this system with the GHF further restricts lifesaving aid and undermines the work of long-standing, trusted humanitarian organizations. The result of this policy will be continued starvation and famine."
"We cannot be silent. This current blockade is starving Palestinian civilians in violation of international law, and the militarization of food will not help," the lawmakers added. "We demand an immediate end to the blockade, an immediate resumption of unfettered humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, the restoration of U.S. funding to UNRWA, and an immediate and lasting cease-fire. Any other path forward is a path toward greater hunger, famine, and death."
Since launching the retaliatory annihilation of Gaza in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Israeli forces have killed at least 56,531 Palestinians and wounded more than 133,600 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which also says over 14,000 people are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath rubble. Upward of 2 million Gazans have been forcibly displaced, often more than once.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated a call for a cease-fire deal that would secure the release of the remaining 22 living Israeli and other hostages held by Hamas.
In addition to Tlaib, the letter to Rubio was signed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Jesús "Chuy" García (Ill.), Al Green (Texas), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Henry "Hank"Johnson (Ga.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Mark Pocan (Wisc.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.), Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.).
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