Senators on both sides press Gabbard on if she thinks Edward Snowden is 'a traitor'. BREAKING NEWS

President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, faced tough questions on Thursday from several Republican senators at her confirmation hearing over her past praise for intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and her shifting views on an electronic surveillance program supported by senators whose votes she needs.

Republicans hold a narrow 9-8 majority on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is holding the hearing and has the first vote on Gabbard’s nomination. The questions from some of the Republican members raised the possibility that Gabbard may not secure their support.

With Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee expected to oppose her, Gabbard will need the votes of every Republican on the panel to keep her path to confirmation alive. If the committee fails to back her, the full Senate could still vote on her confirmation, but that would require a 60-vote majority — a politically improbable scenario.

As a Democratic member of Congress and commentator, Gabbard for years portrayed Snowden — a former government contractor who leaked a vast trove of classified information — as a “brave whistleblower” and called for him to be pardoned. Under questioning from both Republican and Democratic senators at the hearing, Gabbard declined to say whether she believes Snowden is a traitor but said she would not seek a pardon for him if confirmed for the top-ranking intelligence job.

Gabbard did strike a different tone on Snowden than in the past, saying he “broke the law” and that he should not have leaked so much secret information.