Florida Republican – cosponsor of bill to lift restrictions on U.S. aid to genocidal Azerbaijan – Doubles Down after Declaring “We Don’t Want Armenians to be Able to Serve in Congress”
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is leading the nationwide condemnation of U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) — a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — after the Florida Republican declared on a national podcast that “we don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress.” The remark is drawing rebuke from Members of Congress, media figures, and online influencers across the American political spectrum.
Fine made the remark on The Jenny Beth Show, attacking Republican primary opponent Dan Bilzerian’s Armenian heritage before broadening his attack to Armenian Americans as a whole. “We don’t want this to take root in our party,” Fine told the host. “We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress.”
“Randy Fine’s racist rant targeting Armenians comes as no surprise — after all, he’s backing a bill to arm and abet Azerbaijan, a genocidal dictatorship fresh off its ethnic cleansing of 150,000 Armenian Christians,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “This hate-filled bigot has no place in Congress.”
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Fine’s bigoted remarks track closely with his legislative record. The Florida Republican is a cosponsor of H.R.6534, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), which would repeal Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act and lift longstanding restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan — the same dictatorship that, in September 2023, forcibly expelled over 120,000 Indigenous Armenian Christians from their ancestral homeland in Artsakh in what human rights organizations have documented as one of the largest acts of genocidal ethnic cleansing of the 21st century.
“The ANCA strongly opposes H.R.6534 – a reckless bill introduced by Rep. Luna that would reward Azerbaijan’s torture of Armenian hostages, destruction of Armenian Christian heritage, and occupation of Armenian land by lifting restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan,” stated Hamparian. The ANCA has launched a nationwide grassroots campaign against the measure at anca.org/luna and publicly called on Rep. Luna to explain why U.S. taxpayer dollars should be sent to the genocidal Aliyev regime.
Fine Doubles Down
Rather than reverse course or apologize, Fine escalated his attack two days later. In a Sunday post on X, he expanded his exclusionary framing to additional ethnic and national groups, writing: “Armenians should not serve in Congress. Neither should Somalis. Or Guatemalans. Or — wait for it — Israelis.” Critics noted Fine’s inclusion of Israelis as a transparent attempt to deflect from the original target of his rant.
Members of Congress Condemn Fine
Fine’s remarks drew swift condemnation from across the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a longtime champion of Armenian American causes, posted: “Rep. Fine’s comments that Armenian Americans should be barred from serving in Congress are as reprehensible as they are absurd. Congress has benefited from the service of many #Armenian Americans. This is America – we don’t bar people from service based on their ethnicity.”
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA), who represents one of the largest Armenian American communities in the country, issued a forceful rebuke: “Every American should be disgusted by Rep. Fine’s comments. Armenian Americans serve in our military, build businesses, support their neighbors, and make countless contributions to this nation. I represent one of the largest Armenian American communities in the country, and I will not stay silent while their loyalty is questioned and their community is targeted by a serial bigot.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) wrote: “I stand with my Armenian American constituents in condemning this ugly bigotry.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) shared a photo of Fine and posted: “Is this you? Bigots shouldn’t serve in Congress.”
Coverage and Continuing Backlash
ANCA’s response has been featured in Newsweek and the Washington Examiner, alongside extensive coverage across Armenian American media. The mounting backlash comes as Fine — a member of the very House committee that shapes U.S. policy toward Armenia and Azerbaijan — faces growing scrutiny over both his rhetoric and his support for legislation that would directly benefit the regime responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenian Christian population.
“This isn’t just racist — it’s disqualifying,” stated ANCA National Grassroots Director Gev Iskajyan. “Saying Armenians shouldn’t be allowed to serve in Congress is blatant bigotry. No elected official who traffics in this kind of hate should be running for office.”
Photo Caption: 050426_RandyFine_ANCAGraphic.jpg: The ANCA is leading nationwide condemnation of U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) after the Florida Republican – a cosponsor of legislation to lift restrictions on U.S. aid to genocidal Azerbaijan – declared “We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress.”
Armenian National Committee of America