Name: Video: Trump's pick for intel chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faces her confirmation hearing
Description: Among the topics likely to come up at the hearing: her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her friendly positions toward Russia and her push to drop charges against Edward Snowden.

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 for the incoming Trump administration. See 

 A former U.S. representative from Hawaii, Gabbard 

, officially joining the Republican Party and backing President Trump in October 2024.

The director of national intelligence leads the intelligence community across 18 agencies and organizations and advises the president on national security issues, including through drafting and delivering the President's Daily Brief. Gabbard would also be involved in managing the intelligence community budget, which was 

When the Senate Intelligence Committee meets at 10 a.m. ET to consider 

, senators are likely to ask probing questions about Gabbard's meeting with Assad, particularly her skepticism of U.S. intelligence concerning Syrian human rights abuses like the Assad regime's 

. Gabbard has defended that meeting, arguing that U.S. officials should meet with foreign leaders rather than engage in "counterproductive regime change wars."

Senators will likely also have questions about her previous positions on intelligence collection authorities.

Gabbard introduced legislation in 2020 that would repeal Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a program that allows the U.S. intelligence community to collect foreign communications without a warrant. U.S. officials have said the authority is vital for getting sensitive insights into threats ranging from cyberattacks to terrorist plotting, while privacy advocates have urged lawmakers to reform the law and add additional protections.

Gabbard has since committed in public statements to preserving the intelligence-gathering program while protecting Americans' Fourth Amendment rights.

Gabbard has also proposed dropping charges against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who shared sensitive intelligence about U.S. global intelligence programs with journalists in 2013 before ultimately fleeing to Moscow, where he still resides. It's an unpopular position with senators on the committee tasked with overseeing the U.S. intelligence community.

Gabbard's history of defending Russian President Vladimir Putin

Gabbard has echoed misleading Kremlin talking points justifying the invasion of Ukraine, while the U.S. intelligence community has been unequivocal about the threat that Russia poses to global stability and key U.S. security interests.

Gabbard has criticized then-President Joe Biden's support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, a conflict that has provided a lot of key intelligence about Russia's hybrid warfare to the U.S. and its allies. The committee has been split on supporting increased U.S. military aid to Ukraine but has constantly urged ongoing intelligence-sharing relationships with Kyiv.

Overall, lawmakers are stuck on Gabbard's policy positions while considering her nomination, unlike other Trump picks whose personal lives have threatened their chances at getting Cabinet jobs. However, 

even the most embattled candidates, like Pete Hegseth

, have so far found a way through; he was narrowly confirmed to be the defense secretary in a late-night vote last week.

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Jenna McLaughlin

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Among the topics likely to come up at the hearing: her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her friendly positions toward Russia and her push to drop charges against Edward Snowden.

Trump's pick for intel chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faces her confirmation hearing

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