After the initial crush of personnel announcements for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, now the nominations process officially begins. Senate hearings are scheduled this coming week for several of Trump’s picks for the Cabinet. Many have met with senators individually. Now, they will go before the committees overseeing the agencies that Trump wants them to run. Here’s a look at the schedule for Senate hearings set so far, in Eastern time: Tuesday 9 a.m.: Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs The former Georgia congressman is up first, before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Collins is a Baptist minister, former U.S. Navy chaplain and Air Force Reserve colonel. The VA provides health care to former members of the U.S. armed forces. 9:30 a.m.: Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense The former “Fox & Friends” weekend host and Army National Guard combat veteran goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee after weeks of meetings during which some senators have questioned his fitness for the role amid allegations of excessive drinking and misconduct. The Pentagon chief’s authority over the U.S. military is second only to that of the president’s. 10 a.m.: Doug Burgum, Interior Department The former governor of North Dakota and businessman appears before members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who will consider his nomination as interior secretary, the chief steward of U.S. public lands. Burgum, who endorsed Trump after ending his own 2024 presidential bid and campaigned for Trump, has also been tapped to lead the National Energy Council. Trump has said the council will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world. Wednesday 9 a.m.: Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Department The South Dakota governor will appear before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The rancher and former congresswoman is in line to head one of the government’s biggest agencies, integral to Trump’s pledge to secure the border and carry out a massive deportation operation. 9:30 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Justice Department The former Florida attorney general makes the first of two scheduled appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was Trump’s pick for attorney general hours after his first choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration. Gaetz was facing questions about a federal sex trafficking investigation and a House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations that he paid for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl. Bondi is a longtime fixture in Trump’s orbit. The attorney general will be one of the most closely watched Cabinet members, given the concern among Democrats that Trump will look to bend the Justice Department to his will. 10 a.m.: Sean Duffy, Transportation Department The former Wisconsin congressman who was also a co-host on Fox Business will be questioned by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The department oversees pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, airlines and mass transit systems, as well as funding for highways. 10 a.m.: John Ratcliffe, CIA Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence for the final months of Trump’s first term, goes before Senate Intelligence Committee. The former Texas congressman is in line to lead the nation’s premier spy agency, responsible for foreign covert operations and collecting data on U.S. adversaries. 10 a.m.: Marco Rubio, State Department The Florida senator has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is considering his nomination to be secretary of state. As head of the State Department, job, Rubio would oversee the U.S. […]