A few are expected to be confirmedwithin hours of the inauguration

President-elect BarackObama's proposed Cabinet of top advisers seems headed towardswift U.S. Senate approval, with former presidential rivalHillary Clinton appearing a shoo-in for secretary of state. Following a tradition in the treatment of incomingpresidents, Obama's fellow Democrats along with Republicanshave made Senate confirmation of his Cabinet a top priority. Most of Obama's picks may be approved within days of theIllinois Democrat being sworn in as the 44th president at noon(1700 GMT) on Tuesday. A few are expected to be confirmedwithin hours of the inauguration. Twelve of President Ronald Reagan's 14 Cabinet members wereconfirmed within two days of his first inauguration in 1981,while 13 of President Bill Clinton's 15 Cabinet members wereconfirmed within one day President George W.

Members of both parties agree Obama's proposed departmentheads need to be in place to help him hit the ground running ashe confronts two wars, a deepening recession, an explosiveMiddle East and an estimated 46 million Americans withouthealthcare. Hillary Clinton, a senator from New York since 2001 andwife of former President Bill Clinton, may be the first ofObama's nominees to be confirmed, likely a few hours after hetakes office. Others who may be confirmed quickly include Nobel physicslaureate Steven Chu as energy secretary, former Iowa Gov TomVilsack as agriculture secretary and Democratic Sen KenSalazar of Colorado as interior secretary. None of Obama's nominees to his 15-member Cabinet isexpected to be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate But New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew as commercesecretary-designate to deal with a corruption probe, andTreasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner has facedembarrassing questions about $34,000 in unpaid taxes.

The Senate confirmation hearing for Geithner, head of theFederal Reserve Bank of New York, has been postponed until theday after Obama takes office. "He'll be chastened and embarrassed as he should be but he'll likely be confirmed," said a senior Republican aide. Many argue Geithner's expertise is vital to deal with therecession. But as another Republican said: "Let's see how hedoes at his hearing.