Rep. Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPowell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy Overnight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE (D-Calif.) defended her vacation to Hawaii during the government shutdown, taking a jab at President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE on the day she is set to be elected House Speaker.

In an interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on "Today," Pelosi said that maybe Trump “doesn’t realize” Hawaii is in the U.S. and that she would have been easily able to return to Washington if necessary.

“The president may not know this, but Hawaii is part of the United States of America; maybe he doesn’t realize that,” she said. “That’s why he said Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE wasn’t born in the United States when he was born in Hawaii.”

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“Hawaii has airports and airlines and telephones, so the communication is good,” she said.

Pelosi defended the trip, saying that she observed the Christmas holiday, and that the shutdown actually “cut in half” her time with family.

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addresses President Trump’s criticism of her holiday trip amid the government shutdown in an exclusive interview with Savannah. pic.twitter.com/9j6zUkCK4u — TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 3, 2019

The House minority leader said that Democratic House leadership “stood ready” to give members 24 hours notice if they had to return to Washington for a vote on a spending bill.

Trump and Democrats have continually blamed each other for the shutdown, which started nearly two weeks ago over Trump’s demands for funding for a border wall.

Trump, who stayed in Washington over Christmas, criticized Democrats for vacationing during the shutdown, even though members of both parties left Washington for the holiday. Over the holiday, Trump tweeted that he was "all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal."

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwayGeorge Conway hits Trump on 9/11 anniversary: 'The greatest threat to the safety and security of Americans' Juan Williams: Swamp creature at the White House Oversight Democrats press for probe into possible Hatch Act violations MORE also took a jab directly at Pelosi's Hawaii trip, saying: "Less hula, more moola for the [Department of Homeland Security] and Customs and Border Patrol."

The new Congress will be sworn in on Thursday, handing power back to the Democrats, and negotiations are expected to continue over a bill to end the shutdown.