Tulsi Gabbard fought back against what she called “smears,” declaring she is nobody’s “puppet” before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, has faced tough questions from lawmakers during a fiery confirmation hearing Thursday.

Trump’s nominee for director of intelligence said, under oath, that she was not aware “until today” that a prominent cleric she met in Syria threatened to unleash suicide bombers in the United States.

Tulsi Gabbard faced tough questions Thursday about past comments about Russia, Syria and government leaker Edward Snowden during a Senate confirmation hearing on her nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence service.

Gabbard is transferring her business to her spouse in a move experts said could create conflict of interest concerns.

During their respective hearings, Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard promised to restore trust. However, they were chosen above all for one reason: their willingness to bend the FBI and the intelligence services to Trump's will.

Ms. Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, was briefly subject to special scrutiny on airline flights last year, but not, officials say, for the partisan reasons she has alleged.

If confirmed, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard would become the youngest-ever DNI. Sources tell ABC News the vote on her nomination is expected to be close.

Curt Mills Gabbard, who has a reputation as an outsider, looked like a seasoned political professional from the very start. Her opening line was a home run: She said she was motivated to be director of national intelligence because of the intelligence failures that led to the war in Iraq.

Senior Trump advisor Jason Miller joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the latest on President Donald Trump's controversial Cabinet nominees and the status of tariffs on Mexico and Canada

Explore the tumultuous Senate hearings for Trump's Cabinet nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel