Senators quizzed Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence on her past support for leaker Edward Snowden and for meeting with Syrian dictator Basha al-Assad.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas question Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday for her confirmation hearing to be Director of National Intelligence.

Former Hawaiʻi congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard strode into the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing room Thursday with a wide smile as some members of the audience gave her a standing ovation while chanting, “U.S.A, U.S.A., U.S.A.”

It was a brief moment of exuberance in an otherwise tense and politically fraught confirmation hearing for Gabbard, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to be his Director of National Intelligence. Her nomination has been met with skepticism on both sides of the aisle due to her lack of experience and questionable liaisons. 

She’s been criticized for espousing Russian talking points and casting doubt on deposed Syrian president Basha al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people. Her long-standing ties to Chris Butler and his Hawaiʻi-based Science of Identity Foundation, an obscure sect of Hare Krishna that former members describe as a cult, have also come under scrutiny. 

Gabbard’s experience in Hawaiʻi politics, where at 21 she became the state’s youngest ever state legislator and eventually went on to run for president, was just a footnote in Thursday’s hearing. The former congresswoman has all but moved on from the islands in her evolution from Democratic maverick to Trump loyalist.

In her opening statement, Gabbard swiped back at her detractors, saying she’s been the victim of smears and lies. She tried to assure the committee that she was beholden to no one — not Trump, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who she’s close with, or a spiritual guru. 

“Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience, and the Constitution of the United States,” Gabbard said. “The fact is what truly unsettles my political opponents is I refuse to be their puppet.”

Gabbard has spent weeks trying to convince senators that she’s the right person to oversee the nation’s intelligence apparatus, which includes 18 agencies, and to give the president a daily briefing about potential dangers in the world. Some supporters on the political right say she’ll help to shake up the status quo, but she’s been dogged by questions about whether she has the resume and experience necessary for the critical position.

Gabbard is a former Democrat who previously aligned with the far left of the party. Since she switched parties and gravitated to Trump, she’s been forced to confront some of her previous policy positions and public statements, some of which came to the fore during Thursday’s hearing. 

Gabbard’s affiliation with the Science of Identity Foundation was examined in recent the Wall Street Journal and New York Times stories, but no senator directly asked her about her beliefs. Former adherents of the sect have reached out to lawmakers with concerns about Gabbard’s relationship with the foundation and its leader, Butler, who has a history of espousing extreme anti-LBBTQ and Islamophobic ideals. 

Gabbard attacked Democrats in her opening statement, saying that questions about her spirituality show that they are “once again using the religious bigotry card.”

Senators from both parties pressed Gabbard on Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who leaked classified documents about global surveillance efforts. Some Senators demanded that she call him a traitor, which she repeatedly refused to do. 

Gabbard, an outspoken supporter of Snowden, previously described him as a brave whistleblower who should be pardoned.

In one exchange, Republican Sen. Todd Young, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, asked Gabbard whether she agreed with a House Intelligence Committee report that found that Snowden’s leaks caused “tremendous damage to U.S. national security.”

When Gabbard dodged, repeating a line she used often about Snowden breaking the law, Young offered his own assessment of her answer. “It’s notable you didn’t say yes,” he said.

Gabbard’s nomination hinges on slim margins and she will likely need every Republican on the intelligence committee to vote in favor of sending her confirmation to the full Senate floor. Already, Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who sits on the Intelligence Committee, has expressed apprehension about the nomination. 

Throughout the hearing Gabbard maintained her composure, even when questioned about one of her most controversial decisions – a 2017 trip to Syria where she met with Assad. 

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, homed in on Gabbard’s skepticism about Assad’s use of chemical weapons on his own people. He said that her predilection for dismissing U.S. intelligence in favor of her own theories, some of which were based on loose evidence from questionable sources, speaks to a lack of judgment. 

“I think that’s something that we should all be concerned about,” he said.

Still, Gabbard defended her decision to meet with Assad. When asked directly by another senator whether she felt the trip was a good idea, she said that it was.

“I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging, boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they meet adversaries or friends,” she said.