PHILADELPHIA — Rep. Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Democrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise MORE (D-Minn.) sought to energize progressive activists on Saturday, telling a crowd that lawmakers shouldn’t “ask for permission or wait for an invitation to lead.”

Omar, addressing the Netroots Nation conference, an annual meeting of progressive activists, appeared to take jabs at Democratic House leadership after a week of tension between her fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOn The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline McCarthy says there will be a peaceful transition if Biden wins Anxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid MORE (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Trump signs largely symbolic pre-existing conditions order amid lawsuit MORE (D-Calif.).

“We recognize every single person has a role. Our role is to take our votes. Leadership’s role is to wrangle votes. And so if everybody understands what their role is, then everybody succeeds,” Omar said.

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Omar made the comments on a panel alongside Reps. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyFauci, Black Lives Matter founders included on Time's 100 Most Influential People list Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Pressley applauded on House floor after moving speech on living with alopecia MORE (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi TlaibTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' George Conway: 'Trump is like a practical joke that got out of hand' Pelosi endorses Kennedy in Massachusetts Senate primary challenge MORE (D-Mich.), two of her fellow freshman congresswomen. Along with Ocasio-Cortez, the lawmakers are known in Washington as “the squad.”

Omar appeared to double down on House progressives' feud with their party's leadership, suggesting that tensions within the party remain.

She said during the “Making Herstory: The Women Who Are Shifting the Balance of Power in Washington” keynote address that there's a "struggle, often times, with people who have power about sharing that power.”

“We are not really in the business of asking for the share of that power. We are in the business of trying to grab that power and return it to the people,” Omar added.

Omar's remarks came days after the four freshman congresswomen got into a heated public tangle with Pelosi, prompting the Speaker to admonish lawmakers during a closed-door caucus meeting this week.

Pelosi pressed Democrats to keep their disputes to themselves, later making it clear that a tweet, since deleted by Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, had motivated her speech. The tweet had ripped centrist Democrats, comparing them to segregationist Southern lawmakers.

The dust-up escalated when Ocasio-Cortez later accused Pelosi of racial insensitivity in an interview with The Washington Post.

Ocasio-Cortez accused Pelosi of singling out women of color for criticism as divisions linger over the passage of a $4.6 billion border bill. Ocasio-Cortez said she and fellow women of color have felt dismissed by Pelosi, who has thrown cold water on progressive issues such as the Green New Deal climate plan. At times, Pelosi made clear the freshmen do not speak for the full caucus.



By the end of the week, Pelosi signaled a desire to move on, saying she had nothing more to say on Thursday.

A growing number of progressive House Democrats, frustrated with the public squabbling, have accused Ocasio-Cortez of crossing a line when she suggested that Pelosi was treating minority women unfairly.