While in Congress, Gabbard was staunchly against the program known as Section 702 in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), but has switched her tune as some senators indicated they wanted to make sure she is supportive of the measure as head of intelligence. 

“My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI’s misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens. Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people,” Gabbard said.

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Gabbard said that the provision is “crucial for gathering foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons abroad,” calling it a “unique capability” that “cannot be replicated and must be safeguarded to protect our nation.”

Senators have indicated that Gabbard should indicate she is in favor of the provision ahead of her confirmation hearing. 

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-AK) told Punchbowl News he supports Gabbard’s 702 stance now that it has changed. His support could be a key indicator of how Republican Senate leadership is considering her nomination.

“Tulsi Gabbard has assured me in our conversations that she supports Section 702 as recently amended and that she will follow the law and support its reauthorization as DNI,” Cotton said.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, additionally suggested on a Wall Street Journal podcast this week that she should walk back her previous opposition to the 702 program. 

In December 2020, less than a month before she left Congress, Gabbard introduced legislation in the House that would have repealed the Patriot Act and Section 702.

Trump has also been skeptical of FISA, calling for Congress to “KILL FISA” in April of last year.

Gabbard has also faced questions about her 2017 trip to Syria, where she met then-President Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who used chemical warfare against his citizens during the Syrian Civil War. A few months after returning from the trip, Gabbard said she opposed then-President Trump’s military strikes in Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack from Assad. 

Gabbard has defended the trip, claiming it’s important to open dialogue with foreign adversaries, but critics believe her commentary echoes Russian talking points.

If Gabbard is confirmed to her post as Director of National Intelligence, she will oversee all intelligence in the U.S., including information in the CIA. One of the DNI’s primary responsibilities is to determine what intelligence the president sees daily in their daily brief.