WASHINGTON >> Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the director of national intelligence, faced intense questioning Thursday by lawmakers who must decide whether to advance her to a full vote of the Senate. They peppered her with questions about her past criticism of America’s intelligence agencies, her views that have echoed authoritarian leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and her strenuous refusal to fully disavow Edward Snowden, who was responsible for the biggest security breach in decades.

The hearing, which lasted more than 2 1/2 hours, included close questioning of Gabbard by several Republicans on the committee, a sign that she could be in for a challenging confirmation fight.

Democrats went on the offensive almost immediately. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the party’s ranking member, opened the hearing by saying he had “serious doubts” about Gabbard’s judgment, citing her past support of Snowden, the one-time National Security Agency contractor who leaked secret information about government surveillance programs.

Warner and several other senators — of both parties — questioned Gabbard about Snowden, whom she previously said “must be protected” as a whistleblower. Three Republicans — Todd Young of Indiana, Susan Collins of Maine and James Lankford of Oklahoma — joined Democrats in pressing Gabbard to join them in labeling Snowden, who now lives in Russia after fleeing the United States, as a traitor.

She declined. Instead, Gabbard repeatedly returned to the same refrain, saying that Snowden “broke the law” but not going further.

That refusal left some of the senators exasperated, including Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who was unwilling to accept her response. “That is not a hard question!” he said, raising his voice.

Gabbard handled questions about her past stances on Iran, Russia and Syria more adroitly.

Democrats forcefully questioned Gabbard about those positions, including on the war in Ukraine. Last June, she said that Putin was not solely to blame for the fighting, saying that the U.S. and some of its European allies in NATO were “fueling this war.” But when Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked her who was responsible, she responded, “Putin started the war.”

The panel will decide whether to advance her nomination to a vote of the full chamber. The position, established following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, oversees the entirety of the country’s intelligence apparatus, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

If confirmed, Gabbard would be in charge of developing the President’s Daily Brief, a compendium of the most important intelligence the U.S. gathers every day.