WASHINGTON – The battle over President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices will escalate this week with Senate confirmation hearings set for more than a dozen prospective nominees, who will face a barrage of questions from Democrats hoping to enlist Republicans in knocking at least a few out of contention.

The most high-profile and potentially contentious hearing is scheduled for today, when the Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to consider the expected nomination of Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News personality and combat veteran, for secretary of defense. Senate committees have also set public reviews for the choice for attorney general and those tapped to run the State, Treasury, Homeland Security, Energy, Interior, Transportation and Veterans Affairs departments and the CIA, among others.

Despite criticism of some picks, Trump has urged Senate Republicans to stay united and deliver the team he has selected in the opening days of the administration. How the GOP responds will provide an early test in the relationship.

Trump and his Republican allies in the Senate would like to be have at least some officials in place within hours of his swearing-in next Monday, but while top Republicans say they are committed to rapidly advancing his picks, the chances of more than a few being ready for votes on Inauguration Day are low.

“The president ought to have his team in place early, especially his national security team,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said Sunday. “If Democrats try to drag out the process, the Republican Conference is ready to work around the clock, including weekends and nights, to get them in place.”

Hegseth has faced intense scrutiny because of accusations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, as well as his acknowledgment of reaching a financial settlement with a woman who accused him of sexual assault at a conservative convention in 2017. He has also faced criticism for comments about limiting the role of women in the military and will be pressed about his handling of two veterans advocacy groups that ran into financial trouble.

“Your past behavior and rhetoric indicates your inability to effectively lead this organization and properly support our service members,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who sits on the committee, wrote to Hegseth last week in a 33-page letter with more than 70 questions for Hegseth.

After some initial unease, Senate Republicans have become more confident about Hegseth’s chances for confirmation as he has made personal visits to Senate offices to address Republican concerns.

“As people hear him, I think they will gain more confidence in his abilities,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

But Democrats on the panel are already raising alarm that they have not been able to view an FBI background check on Hegseth — information that so far has been shared only with the panel’s chair and senior Democrat — and may not receive complete information about his past.

Though confirmation hearings can produce drama, it is rare for nominees to be defeated on the floor. Just one has been rejected in the last 36 years, when John Tower, a former Republican senator from Texas, fell short of the votes for secretary of defense in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Senators traditionally tend to give presidents deference in their top administration choices, and those who run into trouble typically withdraw before a vote.