Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, has made headlines for years with her criticism of what she describes as “regime change” wars and abuses by the nation’s intelligence agencies. On Thursday she will be defending those comments.

At her confirmation hearing, senators are likely to zero in on her sympathy toward Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s arguments for waging war in Ukraine. Her failure to strongly and consistently condemn Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s now-deposed dictator, is likely to be another line of questioning.

Ms. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who is now a Republican, will undoubtedly be asked about her views on whether the intelligence gathering of federal agencies, which she will oversee if confirmed, needs to be reined in.

She might find herself on the defensive, even in questioning from Republican senators, for her previous championing of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, each of whom were pursued by the American authorities for unlawfully releasing classified documents.

Here are examples of comments she made on podcasts, social media or television interviews:

On Russia and Ukraine

Ms. Gabbard has repeatedly voiced views in line with the Kremlin’s. She insisted that the Biden administration, NATO and some European countries had dismissed Russia’s security concerns about Ukraine and that Mr. Putin, who ordered the military invasion, was not solely to blame for the conflict.