MIAMI -- Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hung up on President-elect Barack Obama and chief of staff designate Rahm Emmanuel on Wednesday, thinking the calls were a joke.

A representative of Ros-Lehtinen released a statement Wednesday saying that someone called her from a Chicago phone number, claiming that Obama wanted to talk to her. When a man introduced himself as Obama, the news release said, Ros-Lehtinen told him she thought the call was a joke and hung up.

Typically, when high-ranking officials call, an aide calls in advance to verify. That was the procedure recently when Ros-Lehtinen received a call from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"But this one was just out of the blue he's calling me. And I said, 'Boy, you're a much better impersonator than that guy on "Saturday Night Live,"' and he's laughing and he's thinking I'm kidding," she said.

A few minutes later, Ros-Lehtinen received another call, this time from Obama's chief of staff designate Rahm Emmanuel. Again, Ros-Lehtinen said she didn't believe it was really Emmanuel, and she hung up on him, too.

"I said I really do appreciate it. I love these pranks more than anybody and I'm honored that you would prank me, but I'm gonna hang up."

And she did.

Ros-Lehtinen only realized her mistake when Howard Berman, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called her and told her that Obama really did call her, Ros-Lehtinen's representative said. She asked Berman to tell her an inside joke about a colleague that only they would know to make sure the phone call was legitimate.

"I was just flabbergasted," Ros-Lehtinen said Thursday. "I just hung up on the most powerful man on earth -- twice."

She said Obama called to congratulate her on her re-election, saying he was looking forward to working with her as the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs committee.

When Obama called again, Ros-Lehtinen finally believed him. Ros-Lehtinen's representative said she told Obama that South Florida radio stations often play pranks, and she thought the calls were a joke. Obama told her there were pranks in Chicago, too, according to the statement.

He told her "anytime my ego gets too pumped up, I think Michelle will remind me that you hung up not once, but twice on me," Ros-Lehtinen said.

Ros-Lehtinen finally congratulated Obama for winning the presidency and "pledged to work together on behalf of all Americans," the statement said. She also spoke to him about issues in Cuba and Israel.

Ros-Lehtinen fielded calls Thursday from angry constituents who think she hung up on Obama on purpose.

Obama's office has not commented on the mix-up.