US House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to condemn Republican lawmakers who made Islamophobic comments, stating only that he spoke to them about their 'tone'. The remarks from Representatives Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Randy Fine of Florida have drawn widespread criticism from Democrats and religious tolerance groups.
At a press conference during the House GOP retreat in Doral, Florida, Johnson said: 'I’ve spoken to those members and all members, as I always do, about our tone and our message and what we say.' He added that there is 'a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose sharia law in America is a serious problem', without specifying which parties are calling for it.
Ogles posted on social media that 'Muslims don’t belong in American society' and called for the deportation of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a naturalised US citizen and Muslim. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded by calling Ogles a 'malignant clown' and 'disgusting Islamophobe'.
Fine has made multiple anti-Muslim posts, including comparing Muslims to dogs. Jeffries described Fine as 'a disgrace to the United States Congress' and urged Johnson to hold him accountable. Johnson, however, showed little interest in disciplinary action, saying only that the language used by the lawmakers 'is different language than I would use'.
