U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) announced that his father's seeing-eye service dog, Sadie, will be his guest during President Donald Trump's State of the Union (SOTU) at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night.
"I decided that Sadie deserves a seat at this year’s State of the Union. My guest list for tomorrow’s address includes my father, Alan Fine, and his seeing-eye service dog, Sadie," Fine wrote.
While often designated for humans, Rep. Fine's invitation to Sadie intends to highlight his Protecting Puppies from Sharia Act. Specifically, the act would prohibit federal funds from being given to any state or local government that bans dogs as pets.
Rep. Fine called it a "right" to own a dog.
The legislation comes after pro-Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani and advisor to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated on "X", "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."
Rep. Fine responded to the comment by saying, “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one" on social media.
Kiswani followed up by calling Rep. Fine's comment "genocidal."
"He’s just like the millions of other racists hounding me this past week, looking for a reason to be Islamophobic. Just replace Muslims with any other religion and ask if this is ok," Kiswani said.
Further outrage ensued, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calling Fine's statement racist and demanding his resignation. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY, Jaime Raskin (D-MD), and Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) also called on Fine to resign.
Further, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Fine a "racist slob."
"Sadie being with us allows my father to live his life, and she has turned into part of our family. Dogs Make America Great. I will fight like hell against anyone who wants to take them away," Fine added.
Fine also jabbed at CAIR for believing dogs should be banned in America so it can be "sharia-compliant."
"They are mad that I disagree. Too bad," Fine told the Floridian.
Sadie, joined by Alan Fine, will be wearing a "Don't Tread on Me" outfit. President Trump's SOTU begins at 9 p.m. ET.
