Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s choice to serve as the director of national intelligence, has perhaps the most difficult path to confirmation of any of the White House cabinet picks.

Ms. Gabbard, a former Democrat who has transformed herself into one of Mr. Trump’s fiercest foreign policy defenders, has taken a range of stances that appeal to the president but are at odds with the foreign policy establishment in both parties.

Those differences were apparent on Thursday. The examination from Republicans was polite, but she faced some of the toughest questioning from Mr. Trump’s party members of any of his nominees so far.

A committee will vote in the coming days on whether to advance her nomination to a vote of the full chamber. Here are four takeaways from the hearing.

It was apparent before the hearing that Edward Snowden, a former national security contractor who released reams of classified data in 2013, would be a focus of lawmakers’ questions, but it was surprising that he dominated so much of the hearing.

Republicans and Democrats repeatedly asked Ms. Gabbard to call him a traitor. She refused.

Edward Snowden leaked classified information in 2013.Credit…Rafael Marchante/Reuters

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