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Gabbard started her hearing at the Senate Intelligence Committee by telling lawmakers that big changes are needed to address years of failures of America's intelligence service. She said too often intelligence has been false or politicized, leading to wars, foreign policy failures and the misuse of espionage. She said those lapses have continued as the U.S. faces renewed threats from Russia and China.

Gabbard promised to be objective and noted her military service, saying she would bring the same sense of duty and responsibility to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees and coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies.

The questions raised by senators about Gabbard's judgment and experience make her one of the more contentious of Trump's Cabinet nominees. She will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes to win confirmation.

A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020. She has no formal intelligence experience and has never run a government agency or department.

It's Gabbard's comments, however, that pose the biggest challenge to her confirmation. She repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance program.

In a back-and-forth Thursday that at times grew heated, lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about her statements supportive of Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who fled to Russia after he was charged with revealing classified information about surveillance programs.

Several senators, including Republicans James Lankford of Oklahoma and Susan Collins of Maine, pressed Gabbard on whether she would push to pardon Snowden, or whether she considered him a traitor. On the last question, Gabbard repeatedly declined to answer.

"Yes or no, is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America?" asked Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.

"As someone who has served in uniform in combat, I understand how critical our national security is," Gabbard responded, before Bennet cut her off, saying "Apparently, you don't."

Gabbard said while Snowden revealed important facts about surveillance programs she believes are unconstitutional, he violated rules about protecting classified secrets. "Edward Snowden broke the law," she said.

Gabbard is accused of spreading Russian disinformation by Republican lawmakers and even won praise in Russian state-controlled media. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, asked Gabbard on Thursday whether Russia would "get a pass" from her.

"Senator I'm offended by the question," Gabbard responded. "Because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation, our own security and the interests of the American people."

A 2017 visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad is another point of contention. Assad was recently deposed as his country's leader following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons.

Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she legitimized a dictator and then more questions when she said she was skeptical that Assad used chemical weapons.

"I just do not understand show you can blame NATO for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine, and when Assad used chemical weapons against his own people, you didn't condemn him," said the committee's senior Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.

Gabbard defended her meeting with Assad, saying she used the opportunity to press the Syrian leader on his human rights record.

Senators also pressed her about her changing views of the surveillance program known as Section 702, which allows authorities to collect the communications of suspected terrorists overseas.

As a lawmaker, Gabbard sponsored legislation that would have repealed it. She argued then that the program could be violating the rights of Americans whose communications are swept up inadvertently, but national security officials say the program has saved lives.

She now says she supports the program, noting new safeguards designed to protect Americans' privacy.

Gabbard is among a couple of nominees who are facing more difficultly gaining unanimous support from Republican senators. The committee has not yet scheduled a vote.

There has been much discussion over whether the committee vote on Gabbard should be made in public or in private as the panel usually operates. Many of Trump's supporters want it to be public to pressure any GOP senator who is considering opposing her nomination.