Here are the steps nominees and potential nominees take after a president-elect selects them for office and before they can be confirmed.

Meeting with Senators

Nominees for Cabinet posts typically visit Capitol Hill well before their confirmation hearings, so lawmakers can get to know them informally and express their support or press them on potential policy disputes that could arise later in the confirmation process.

You work with consultants who help them navigate the Capitol complex and manage interactions with Senate committees and offices. They are usually overflowing with information material.

Janet Napolitano, the former Arizona governor who became head of the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, recalled the reading she gave during her confirmation process.

“I remember looking at the door of the governor’s office one day and a man came down with a dolly filled with 3-inch binders of DHS briefing materials,” she said. “And I remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?'”

“I had to learn the difference between a ship and a boat,” Ms. Napolitano added.

Candidates often use visits to the Capitol to present themselves as momentum. Some of Mr. Trump’s more controversial nominees for top positions, including Kash Patel, the potential FBI director, have met in recent weeks with fellow Republican senators, who subsequently released photos and statements reiterating their support.

The meetings also give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate bipartisanship. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations, has met with Democrats who have signaled support, including Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

An ethics and background check

Nominees must submit documents about their professional and educational backgrounds – a type of outsized resume that federal officials use to conduct inquiries into a candidate’s work and personal life, including whether they have used drugs or have a police record. Many senior candidates submit a more detailed version of the document that discusses potential foreign contacts or travel.

The FBI uses these forms to conduct background checks that lawmakers use to evaluate candidates, such as a check on Mr. Hegseth that senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee were briefed on last week ahead of Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

(Mr. Trump’s transition team had considered bypassing FBI background checks by using private investigators, but later signed an agreement with the Justice Department allowing those checks. However, it was unclear whether all of Mr. Trump’s nominees went through the process .)

Nominees must also fill out an Office of Government Ethics document known as OGE Form 278, which examines possible conflicts of interest a nominee might have in leading an agency. Many of those forms have been released in recent days, including for Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

The questionnaire asks about a candidate’s financial background, such as assets held, forms of income and gifts received. Possible conflicts do not disqualify anyone. However, nominees must resolve these issues in some way in a formal ethics agreement with the federal government. For example, executives of companies who are appointed to top positions must regularly sell shares.

“This ethics agreement is often one of the most complex and important parts of the entire candidate selection process,” said Norman Eisen, who served as an ethics official in the Obama administration. “This is the place where, for example, former employers or clients or current financial interests are identified and arrangements are made to exclude the candidate from working on relevant individual matters or other issues.”

Scott Bessent, Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary who has made millions as an investor and hedge fund manager, released his plan Saturday to divest from dozens of funds, trusts and investments.

Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary under President Barack Obama, said she adjusted her stock portfolio so that there was no risk that it would conflict with the work of the Food and Drug Administration, especially since she would oversee that agency.

“There was a comprehensive forensic audit of our finances,” she said, referring to the review by the Senate Finance Committee, one of the panels that examines the background of a nominee for Health and Human Services secretary. “You get political briefings and questions like 10 years ago when you sold your house: ‘What did you do about it?'”

Meetings with Senate staff and confirmation hearings

It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that Senate committees began requiring candidates to meet in person.

Candidates are reviewed by committees that oversee the agencies they wish to lead. For example, Ms. Bondi, the president-elect’s pick for attorney general, is being judged by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

To begin, committees may ask candidates to provide disclosure forms for employees to review or request that they meet with employees in person. Candidates may be questioned about their policy positions, as may be the case at official confirmation hearings.

John Ratcliffe, whom Trump picked to head the CIA, provided background documents to Senate Intelligence Committee staff ahead of his confirmation hearing this week.

A nominee’s interactions with committees culminate in hearings, the most dramatic and visible part of the confirmation process. In a public hearing, nominees first take an oath to speak truthfully and then make opening statements to the committee, typically summarizing their priorities and experiences related to the positions they are seeking. Members of committees from both parties have time-limited periods to ask questions of nominees.

Some nominees will face multiple hearings due to the broad portfolio of their potential position. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for health secretary, is expected to hold hearings on both the Senate Health Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

Senators can also request further information after a hearing in so-called Questions for the Record (QFRs).

The committee and the Senate vote

After a confirmation hearing, a committee votes on whether to recommend a nominee to the full Senate, formally preparing for a final confirmation vote. Lawmakers can then debate a nominee in the Senate before the final vote takes place. Nominees need a majority of senators to be confirmed.

Senator John Tower, a Republican from Texas, was the last Cabinet nominee rejected by the Senate. Mr. Tower was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to be secretary of defense, but was rejected in part because of allegations of excessive drinking.

Julian E. Barnes contributed to reporting.