Rubio clashes with Van Hollen: "We deported gang members, including the one you had a margarita with!"

WASHINGTON — A heated exchange between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen took place during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

The back-and-forth centered on the Trump Administration's handling of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, an undocumented Salvadoran man ICE deported back in March.

Rubio and the federal government accuse Garcia of being a member of the murderous MS-13 gang.

"We deported gang members, gang members, including the one you had a margarita with," Rubio responded while being accosted by Van Hollen. "That guy is a human trafficker, and that guy is a gangbanger, and the evidence is going to be clear in the days to come who you went to defend."

"He can't make unsubstantiated comments like that," Van Hollen fired back. "Secretary Rubio should take that testimony to federal court of the United States, because he hasn't done it under oath."

Rubio's mention of a margarita appeared to be a dig at Van Hollen whose made it his personal mission to free Garcia.

In April Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador, later releasing photos of he and Garcia meeting.

A couple pictures showed Van Hollen and Garcia sitting at a table with drinks.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele mocked the Senator's trip on X saying, "Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” & “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!"

Van Hollen's visit also got the attention of the White House who asked, "Where was his concern for Maryland constituents put at risk by the many other illegal immigrants allowed to roam free until now?"

Following Van Hollen's clash with Rubio on Tuesday, the White House called him "MS-13’s favorite U.S. Senator."

A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the U.S. to return Garcia back to Maryland, but the feds have stood firm against it.

"No judge and the judicial branch cannot tell me or the President how to conduct foreign policy," Rubio told Van Hollen. "No judge can tell me how I have to outreach to a foreign partner or what I need to say to them, and if I do reach out to that foreign partner and talk to them, I'm under no obligation to share that with the judiciary branch."

Van Hollen reacted by saying he regretted voting to confirm his former Senate colleague to serve as Secretary of State.

"Well, first of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I'm doing a good job," Rubio shot back.

Garcia's case remains in litigation as the executive and judicial branches remain at odds.

The courts say Garcia is owed due process, while the government claims he was given immigration hearings a few years ago.

Meanwhile the feds have continued releasing various documents they claim prove Garcia's gang and human trafficking ties.

They've even released two separate protective order applications Garcia's wife filed against him in the past, alleging domestic violence.