Gabbard, a former House Democrat turned Trump supporter, raised the eyebrows of several lawmakers over some of her past comments and stances on key matters. If confirmed by the incoming Republican-led Senate next year, she would head the federal government’s intelligence community.

Being friendly with Russia

Gabbard has been critical of the war in Ukraine and has promoted views seen as friendly to Russia.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Gabbard said the military action by Russia could have been avoided if President Joe Biden had “acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO.”

“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border,” Gabbard said in an X post at the time.

Days later, Gabbard said in a post that Russia, Ukraine, and the United States should “embrace the spirit of aloha” by ending the conflict and making an agreement to keep Ukraine “neutral.”

“Dear Presidents Putin, Zelensky, and Biden. It’s time to put geopolitics aside and embrace the spirit of aloha, respect and love, for the Ukrainian people by coming to an agreement that Ukraine will be a neutral country—i.e. no military alliance with NATO or Russia—thus…” Gabbard said.

Gabbard’s friendly comments have been played well with Russian state media, which once referred to her as “our girlfriend,” according to the Times. Ukrainian officials have also accused her of spreading Russian disinformation about the war, including concerns over U.S.-funded bio labs in Ukraine possibly spreading deadly pathogens.

“There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured & pathogens destroyed,” Gabbard said in an X post.

The former congresswoman later clarified she was not saying bioweapons were being developed in the laboratories, pushing back on allegations that she was promoting Russian propaganda that claimed such.

In 2019, when Gabbard was running in the Democratic presidential primary, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called her “the favorite of the Russians.”

After her comments about the war in Ukraine in 2022, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said she was “parroting false Russian propaganda” and claimed that “her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”

Meeting with Syria’s Assad

Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria to meet with the country’s president, Bashar al Assad, will also likely resurface as she faces a Senate confirmation.

In a blog post at the time, she said the trip was a “fact-finding mission” to “see and hear directly from the Syrian people.”

Gabbard said in a January 2019 interview she did not regret the meeting with Assad. She met with him twice, for over two hours in total. Though typical for U.S. officials to meet with allied world leaders, Assad’s regime has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979.

In a February 2019 interview, Gabbard declared, “Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States,” but declined to say he was a good person.

A past criticism of Trump comes from his April 2017 decision to launch airstrikes on Syria. Gabbard said, at the time, the strikes were “reckless and short-sighted.”

Science of Identity Foundation

Gabbard’s ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial Hindu group, may also be discussed in a contentious Senate hearing.

The leader behind the Science of Identity Foundation, Chris Butler, has been largely reclusive in recent years, according to a 2022 report from the Independent. A former member of the group told the outlet the group is homophobic, anti-Islamic, and followers are required to worship Butler.

Gabbard was brought up with the group, which has been criticized as a “cult” by some, but the former congresswoman has largely kept her distance from Butler. In a 2017 story for the New Yorker, Gabbard said she “had many different spiritual teachers, and continues to,” and he was not more important than other spiritual teachers. She previously referred to him as her “guru dev,” according to the report.

The former congresswoman was raised alongside followers of Butler and attended informal schools run by others in the Science of Identity Foundation, according to the report from the New Yorker.

Lack of experience

Another thing that could hold Gabbard back is her lack of experience with the intelligence community.

Gabbard served on the foreign affairs and armed services committees, among others, while serving in the House from 2013 until 2021. During her time in Congress, she called on the U.S. to drop charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.

Prior to serving in Congress, Gabbard was a state lawmaker and served in the Hawaii National Guard. She was deployed to Iraq during her service.

Outgoing Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) expressed her concern over Gabbard’s nomination to be director of National Intelligence, calling it appalling.

“As a former CIA case officer, I saw the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community put their lives on the line every day for this country — and I am appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to lead DNI,” Spanberger said in a series of X posts. “Not only is she ill-prepared and unqualified, but she traffics in conspiracy theories and cozies up to dictators like Bashar-al Assad and Vladimir Putin.”

“As a Member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am deeply concerned about what this nomination portends for our national security. My Republican colleagues with a backbone should speak out,” Spanberger added.

Gabbard is one of Trump’s emerging list of surprising Cabinet picks, including veteran Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for attorney general. Trump’s picks will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which is set to have a 53-47 Republican majority in the next Congress.