President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department sat for a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday after hearings for Veterans’ Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins and Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum were postponed.

The Senate battle to confirm President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks will begin in earnest on Tuesday, as his controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, meets the

President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks are set to begin the confirmation process with several appearing before Senate committees this week. Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth and former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins are up first on Tuesday.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth faces a Senate hearing Tuesday while hearings slated for other nominees have been postponed.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

Hearings scheduled this week for more than a dozen of the president-elect's cabinet choices will provide an early test of his hold over Senate Republicans.

Among the other issues that likely will get an airing are Hegseth’s views on ending the war in Ukraine, a priority of Republican Chairman Roger Wicker. Wicker, notably, is a top supporter of Ukraine and frequently wears a pin with Ukrainian and American flags on his lapel.