Aspiring spy boss Tulsi Gabbard defended most of her controversial foreign policy takes during a lively Senate hearing Thursday, including her meeting with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and her prior doubts about the legitimacy of US intelligence on his use of chemical weapons against his own people.

Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she met with authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad, is expected to be a focus of questions from senators weighing her nomination to be director of national intelligence.