Rep. Ilhan Omar in fiery exchange after Trump and GOP demand she be removed from a foreign policy committee originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, the freshman congresswoman President Donald Trump and other top Republicans say should be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her "anti-Semitic" comments, engaged in a fiery exchange Wednesday with a Trump administration official over U.S. policy in Central America.

Omar, one the first Muslim women in Congress, first came under fire Sunday when she tweeted that the GOP and lawmakers who support Israel do so because of donations from pro-Israel lobbying groups, specifically calling out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has spent millions lobbying for pro-Israel legislation and sponsors trips to Israel for members of Congress.

Since then, after even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned her comments and Omar apologized, Trump has repeatedly called on her to either resign from Congress or "at least the committee," he said, because it deals with U.S. policy toward Israel. Vice President Mike Pence added that "those who engage in anti-Semitic tropes should not just be denounced, they should face consequences for their words." Conservative commentators have also tried to hold Omar's feet to the fire.

Her exchange Wednesday with special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams illuminated the rising tensions between Omar and the GOP.

It began when Omar raised Abrams' conviction for lying about the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, for which he was later pardoned, and said she "fail[ed] to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that [he] give today to be truthful." The exchange escalated as Omar pressed him on the human rights standards of the U.S. military in Central America and at one point, Abrams called Omar's questioning "ridiculous" and said he wouldn't respond to a "personal attack which is not a question."

Special Envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams and Rep. Ilhan Omar clash in testy exchange at House Foreign Affairs hearing. "Whether...a genocide will take place and you will look the other way because American interests were being upheld is a fair question," she says. pic.twitter.com/YUZfvuCirF — ABC News (@ABC) February 13, 2019

(MORE: President Trump: Rep. Ilhan Omar 'should resign from Congress' lawmakers decry 'anti-Semitic comments' on Twitter)

Meanwhile, pushback on Omar's comments and denouncing anti-Semitism has turned into a Republican rallying cry and they accuse Democrats of hypocrisy, saying the GOP removed Rep. Steve King from congressional committees after the Iowa Republican's latest comments about white nationalism, which critics called racist.

PHOTO: President Donald J. Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office, Feb. 13, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images) More

"At a minimum, she ought to be forced off that committee," said Republican Rep. Ted Yoho, a fellow member of the Foreign Affairs committee, speaking on Fox News Wednesday in one of many segments focused on the controversy. "Look at the hypocrisy when Steve King said the things he said, the Democrats were up in arms."

"The weight of her words carry a lot of weight, not just here in Congress and Minnesota, but around the world. For a member of Congress to talk like that is unacceptable," Yoho said.

Omar responded to the president's criticism Tuesday with a tweet, pointing to the power of words.

"You have trafficked in hate your whole life—against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you?" she tweeted.

Hi @realDonaldTrump- You have trafficked in hate your whole life—against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you? https://t.co/EqqTyjkiNE — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 13, 2019

Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, have rebuked Omar for her initial comments, saying her "use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters" was "deeply offensive."

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