Mike Johnson refuses to condemn anti-Muslim comments by Republican lawmakers

Mike Johnson, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, on Tuesday declined to condemn Republican lawmakers who recently made Islamophobic comments, saying only that he had spoken to them about their “tone”.

Democrats and groups advocating religious tolerance have decried the statements from congressmen Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Randy Fine of Florida, with the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, calling on Johnson to discipline the latter.

But the Republican speaker showed little interest in doing so when he was asked about the issue at a press conference during the House GOP’s retreat in Doral, Florida.

“I’ve spoken to those members and all members, as I always do, about our tone and our message and what we say,” Johnson said.

“There’s a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose sharia law in America is a serious problem. That’s what animates this,” the speaker continued.

“The language that people use, it’s different language than I would use. But I think that’s a serious issue.”

The speaker did not specify which parties were calling for sharia law in the United States, which he described as “contrary to the US constitution”.

Ogles went on an Islamophobic social media rant on Monday, writing that “Muslims don’t belong in American society” and calling for the deportation of New York City’s Democratic mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim who is a naturalized US citizen.

In response, Jeffries wrote on X: “Andy Ogles is a malignant clown and pathological liar who has fabricated his whole life story. Disgusting Islamophobes like you do not belong in Congress or in civilized society. And that’s why House Democrats will defeat you in November.”

Jeffries had similarly condemned Fine, who has made a series of Islamophobic social media comments in recent weeks, including: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

The minority leader described Fine as “a disgrace to the United States Congress”, and urged Johnson to “hold this so-called member of Congress accountable”.