Donald Trump’s pick to oversee 18 intelligence agencies with a $100 billion spy budget is facing renewed scrutiny over an unannounced trip to Syria in 2017 where she met with the now-deposed dictator twice.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will visit Damascus on Thursday, Qatar's Al Jazeera reported, as Syria's new interim government begins a political transition after Islamist rebels ousted the Assad regime last year.

Weeping, Fairuz Shalish grasps the red earth at an unmarked grave in Syria that she believes may hold her son, one of tens of thousands of people who vanished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.Thousands poured out of the country's web of prisons in the final days of Assad's rule and after Islamist-led rebels toppled him on December 8.

Syrian leader al-Sharaa reportedly also demands reparations as Moscow delegation seeks to secure strategic power bases.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, will testify Thursday morning at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The 43-year-old former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and combat veteran would oversee the nation's 18 spy agencies.

Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.

Al-Sharaa is not willing to continue cooperation with Moscow without 'concrete measures such as compensation, reconstruction, and recovery' after years of support for the Assad regime

Sharaa, was declared head of state for a transitional phase and empowered to form a new legislative council on Wednesday, in an announcement by the armed groups that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Syria's constitution was also suspended and the existing parliament dissolved,

Syria's new government, led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham held its first-ever diplomatic meeting with a Russian delegation in Damascus on8. The meet was held to majorly discuss the future of Russia's two bases on the Syrian coast.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday (January 29), tightening his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad.

Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named the interim president of Syria after a meeting of armed factions that were involved in the offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month. Along with the presidential appointment, it was also announced that Syria's constitution has been suspended.