Pelosi: 'I'm in my place: As the first woman Speaker of the House'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday hit back at the Republican group that said a general should "put her in her place."

"It's really sad they don't understand how inappropriate that is," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference. " I'm in my place. I'm the Speaker of the House, the first woman Speaker of the House. And I'm in my place because the House voted me there. That language is something I hadn't heard in decades." (watch the video here.)

On Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) criticized Pelosi for not supporting a troop buildup in Afghanistan and suggested that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces there, should put Pelosi "in her place."

"If Nancy Pelosi’s failed economic policies are any indicator of the effect she may have on Afghanistan, taxpayers can only hope McChrystal is able to put her in her place," the statement read.

Ken Spain, NRCC's communication director, released the Tuesday statement criticizing Pelosi.

On Thursday, NRCC spokeswoman Joann Burgos, responded to questions about it.

"Rather than deflecting from the real issue at hand and refocus on defeating terrorists, Nancy Pelosi would rather make party politics a higher priority than our national security," she said. "The fact of the matter is that most Americans agree with General McChrystal’s strategy on Afghanistan, but Pelosi self-righteously believes she is better suited to craft our country’s military policy."

Democrats held a conference call Wednesday criticizing the NRCC's original remarks.

On the call, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) charged that the House GOP is "80 percent male and 100 percent white."

Spain also defended his organization's claim Wednesday, saying:

“The Speaker of the House is taking on a highly decorated general who has outlined a strategy in Afghanistan that she once claimed to advocate. This is the same San Francisco liberal whose military foresight — or lack thereof — led her to oppose Gen. [David] Petraeus’s successful surge strategy. Up until it became politically inconvenient, Pelosi and her puppets were referring to Afghanistan as the ‘real central front’ in the war on terror; now their excuse is that there is just not enough political will to keep America safe. Nancy Pelosi might think she’s a general, but she’s playing out of her league and she knows it.”

This story was updated at 2:03 p.m. and 4:09 p.m.