Story highlights Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she was disinvited from Tuesday night's first Democratic debate after voicing a call for more of them.

Gabbard, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee , said Monday that her chief of staff heard from the DNC chair's that Gabbard's public support had made her "no longer welcome to come to the debate."

Washington (CNN) Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she was disinvited from Tuesday night's first Democratic debate after voicing a call for more of them.

Gabbard, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Monday on "The Situation Room" she was told her vocal support for more debates had made her "no longer welcome to come to the debate."

Gabbard said the message was conveyed to her chief-of-staff from the chief-of-staff of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"The prevailing message of that was that because I continued to call for more debates, that I should not go to the debate in Las Vegas," the Hawaii congresswoman said. "The issue here is not about me saying, 'Boo hoo, I'm going to miss the party.' The issue here is one of democracy and freedom of speech."

The New York Times reported earlier Monday that Gabbard had received a message through her staff about her attendance at the event one day after she appeared on television calling for more Democratic debates. Bernie Sanders campaign then offered her a ticket later on Monday.