DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard provided additional details on her meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, while appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Donald Trump’s pick to oversee 18 intelligence agencies with a $100 billion spy budget is facing renewed scrutiny over an unannounced trip to Syria in 2017 where she met with the now-deposed dictator twice.

Trump's pick to head U.S. intelligence has broken with its assessments several times since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, will testify Thursday morning at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The 43-year-old former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and combat veteran would oversee the nation's 18 spy agencies.

Senators remain concerned about Tulsi Gabbard’s foreign contacts. In addition to meeting in 2017 with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—who recently fled his country amid a rebel insurgency—Gabbard mig

Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Tulsi Gabbard says she now supports surveillance she once tried to end. The issue could decide whether she's confirmed as director of national intelligence.

Former Democrat and military veteran Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence was grilled about her past remarks supporting government whistleblower Edward Snowden as well as her relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Gabbard, a former congresswoman and an Army Reserve officer, faced challenging questions from senators on both sides of the aisle during her confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence.

Gabbard replied that she had only meant to highlight the “egregiously illegal and unconstitutional programs” that Snowden had exposed—specifically NSA programs that intercepted communications of U.S. citizens—and that his leaks had led to “serious reforms.”

As Tulsi Gabbard bids to be the next director of national intelligence, the former Hawaii congresswoman took heat from U.S. senators Thursday over her past statements and actions. Gabbard, seen as President Donald Trump’s most vulnerable Cabinet nominee,