There are 15 Cabinet-level departments in the U.S. government, but membership in Barack Obama's Cabinet is poised to exceed that number, with the inclusion of U.N. ambassador-designate Susan Rice, EPA administrator-designate Lisa Jackson, and others. Confirming all those nominees is going to be a big job for the Senate -- especially if scandal, whether real or manufactured, pops up to slow down the process.

We at TPM strive to break down the opacity of congressional process wherever possible. So in that spirit, here's a rundown of the confirmation hearings for each Obama adviser as they currently stand. We'll update throughout the week as more information becomes available ...

State Department: Hillary Clinton will appear before incoming Senate foreign relations committee chairman John Kerry on January 14, one week from today. Her confirmation is nearly assured thanks to her general stature and ties to Senate colleagues, but Bill Clinton's shadowy fundraising -- particularly in light of last week's New York Times scoop on donor Robert Congel -- may generate some fireworks with committee Republicans.

Late Update: Politico reports that Hillary's hearing is headed for a delay to accommodate Kerry's trip, with VP-elect Joe Biden, to Afghanistan. No word yet on a new date.

Late Late Update: Politico got its wires crossed; Kerry now says Hillary's hearing is on for Tuesday, and U.N. ambassador-designate Susan Rice will have her moment two days later, on January 15.

Defense Department: Robert Gates, as the lone Cabinet holdover from the Bush administration, does not have to be re-confirmed by the Senate armed services committee.

Justice Department: Eric Holder, the deputy attorney general for four years under Bill Clinton, is shaping up as the nominee most likely to get a smackdown from Republicans when he appears in the Senate judiciary committee on January 15. Their gripes with Holder's record are thin, focusing on his designation of the controversial 2001 Marc Rich pardon as "neutral, leaning towards favorable" before Clinton went through with it.

Sen. Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on judiciary, delivered a scathing speech yesterday that likened Holder to Alberto Gonzales. Still, Democrats are poised to gain an advantage of as many as three seats on committees, so Holder's nomination is far from jeopardized by the jockeying.

Treasury Department: Tim Geithner, the New York Federal Reserve head who had a front-row seat for negotiations on the financial bailout last fall, is headed for a rough ride in the Senate finance committee on January 14. The panel's senior Republican, Chuck Grassley (IA), has been a consistent critic of the lack of transparency in disbursing the bailout funds. Watch for him to be the sharpest skeptic, more so than most finance panel Dems.

Energy Department: Nobel prize-winning physicist Steven Chu will make his debut before the Senate energy committee, headed by Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), on January 13. Chu looks to have a smooth ride to passage.

Interior Department: The same energy panel will host one of its former members, departing Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO), for his confirmation hearing on January 15. Again, Salazar is set for a trouble-free run to approval.

Department of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano, the popular Arizona governor, will have her hearing before Senate homeland security committee chairman Joe Lieberman on January 15 as well. Like Geithner, she could face uncomfortable questions from progressive Dems -- particularly about the anti-immigration border fence that her predecessor, Michael Chertoff, has stretched environmental laws to expedite. Her answers are sure to be illuminating but unlikely to delay her approval.

Environmental Protection Agency: Lisa Jackson, the New Jersey environmental protection chief, will be examined by Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) environment committee on January 13. Jackson is another nominee with red flags in her background that could draw fire from liberals, particularly an EPA inspector general's report that chastised her department for lagging in cleaning up Superfund waste sites.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: January 13 will also bring HUD nominee Shaun Donovan, the veteran housing commissioner of New York City, to the Senate banking committee led by Chris Dodd (D-CT). Donovan is another nominee expected to have a comfortable ride to passage.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Gen. Eric Shinseki will appear before the Senate veterans' affairs committee, led by Daniel Akaka (D-HI), on January 14. While the sorry state of veterans' health care is sure to prompt a spirited discussion of how Shinseki plans to get at the problem, his confirmation is hardly in doubt.

Departmentof Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader, must do double duty in the finance and health committees before winning approval for his new post at HHS. The latter hearing, before HELP panel chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA), will occur tomorrow. The former has yet to be announced.

Labor Department: Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) is set to come before Kennedy's HELP committee on Friday for her confirmation hearing. The nominee and the chairman will bond over their shared commitment to the Employee Free Choice Act, but panel Republicans may take the opportunity to press Solis on her closeness to the labor movement.

Transportation Department: Retired Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL), the slightly controversial former House appropriator chosen by Obama to manage the nation's trains and roads, has yet to receive his confirmation hearing date from incoming Senate commerce committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).

Department of Agriculture: Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is giving environmental advocates some agita thanks to his long record of supporting the ethanol industry. Will that friction translate into a tense appearance before the Senate agriculture committee on January 14? Given that its chairman is Iowa senator Tom Harkin (D) ... probably not.

Department of Education: Arne Duncan, the Chicago schools chief tapped to lead this agency, will appear in the HELP committee on January 13. His nomination is another in the smooth-ride category as of now.

Commerce Department: The nominee has yet to be named.