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.

Asked by Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich about her 2017 trip to the Middle Eastern country, Gabbard said she met with al-Assad and "asked him tough questions about his own regime's actions," including the "use of chemical weapons and brutal tactics being used against his own people."

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.

The nominee for director of national intelligence espoused provocative takes on foreign policy during public appearances. Senators are expected to challenge some of those in her confirmation hearing.

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.

Ahead of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday, the fate of Gabbard’s nomination rests in the hands of a small handful of undecided GOP senators: Maine’s Susan Collins, Indiana’s Todd Young, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell and Utah’s John Curtis.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, faces a narrow path to confirmation amid concerns on a number of issues.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, testifies Thursday before the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence

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.

If she is confirmed as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard would be the youngest-ever in that role, the first millennial, the first Asian American, and only the second woman to hold the position.

Former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard faces criticism as Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Her past views on Russia and Syria raise bipartisan concerns. While some Republicans support her,