A new President coming to D.C. means that an already busy Senate must juggle must-pass spending bills, policy priorities such as immigration and tax reform, and filling the nearly 1300 federal positions that must be confirmed by Congress’ upper chamber.

The Founders famously imbued the American government with a complex system of checks and balances between each branch. One of those mechanisms is put on full display every time a new President takes up residence in the White House. The Constitution requires that the President nominate and the Senate confirm any judge or other officer of the United States. While the President gets to nominate who he wants in key executive branch positions, it is ultimately the Senate who decides if those nominees get the job. This is known as the Senate’s “advise and consent” role.

This system prevents the President from nominating people who are beholden only to him, preventing a level of corruption and abuse from infecting the executive branch. But it does make for a sometimes-rocky start for each new administration – the President cannot start fully implementing his agenda until his new staff are in place, 1300 of whom must be confirmed by the Senate. So, there is pressure on the Senate to move through the confirmation process as quickly as possible.

That process starts with each nominee being referred to the proper Senate committee of jurisdiction. For example, the nominee for Secretary of Defense would be referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will oversee the Secretary of State position and all ambassador appointments. Each committee reviews materials provided by the White House on each nominee and conducts their own research into each person. Nominees will also meet personally with Senators and committee staff to address any concerns that the Senate may have about their qualifications or how they would fulfill the role that the President would like them to fill. This is also where organizations like Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) can weigh in, by reaching out to our allies in the Senate and suggesting particular questions asked to each nominee.

As part of the committee process, there is also a public confirmation hearing. For the hearing, the nominee will prepare an oral statement and answer any questions that the Senators on the committee may have. The difference between this and the private meetings is that the hearing is open to the public and entirely on the record. This is the time for a nominee to affirm any statements he made to Senators behind closed doors, prove that he can comport himself under pressure, and gain support from the broader American population.

As it is the Committee who does the vast amount of the advising and consenting for each of the President’s nominees, this is the lengthiest and most thorough part of the process. Nominees can be stuck in committee for months. But once the committee believes that they have done enough vetting, they will finally vote on whether or not to send the nomination to the full Senate for a vote. Assuming they do, the Senate will then vote on whether or to install the nominee. At that point, he can get to work doing the work with which the President has tasked him.

The Republican-led Senate has indicated that they will move on national security nominees first. Of those, the first confirmation hearing will likely be for Pete Hegseth, who is up for the Secretary of Defense position. His hearing has been scheduled for January 14. Tulsi Gabbard, who has been tapped for the Director of National Intelligence, may have her hearing that week as well. The Judiciary Committee has said that it hopes to process Attorney General-nominee Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche, the pick for Deputy Attorney General, before the end of the month.

Because Republicans have a 53-47 majority, even the more controversial nominees have a good chance of being confirmed by the Senate. But picks such as Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State will have to spend much less time in committee, because he is well-known and well-liked by the majority of his Senate colleagues, from both sides of the aisle. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, will likely have a longer vetting period as both parties have concerns that they would like him to address. After the top-level positions in each agency have been filled, then the Senate will move on to the rest of the 1300 positions that must be confirmed by that body.

While the incoming Trump administration would like to have these important positions filled as soon as possible, the Senate has rules and procedures that prevent the process from being rushed, along with having to fit other legislative priorities into their busy calendar. While the President is the most public face of the executive branch, these Senate-confirmed nominees make decisions that are wide-ranging and impact the lives of millions. While an efficient process is important, it is also critical that the right man or woman is chosen for each position, leaders who will stand for the truth and uphold the dignity of every American.