The Senate is expected to move a step closer Monday to filling out President Obama’s Cabinet when it votes on the nomination of Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general.

The Judiciary Committee approved Holder’s nomination by a 17-2 margin on Jan. 28 after a one-week delay. Two Republicans, John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, voted no.

Committee Republicans, led by ranking member Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, had sharply questioned Holder’s involvement as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration in controversial pardon and clemency decisions in 1999 and 2001. But Specter and most other panel Republicans ultimately supported his confirmation.

Obama got off to a fast start nominating members of his Cabinet, but several of his selections hit unexpected bumps in the Senate.

Tax questions delayed the confirmation of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee have held up the confirmation process for former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., nominated to be secretary of Health and Human Services.

A spokeswoman for Daschle confirmed Thursday that the committee now has all the materials its members requested and said that part of the vetting process was finished. “They asked questions; we answered them; they have all our materials,” said the spokeswoman.

That puts the ball in the court of Senate Finance, where ranking Republican Charles E. Grassley of Iowa says the panel is almost ready to move ahead.

That does not appear to be true for the nomination of Rep. Hilda L. Solis , D-Calif., for Labor secretary. Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have been bombarding her with extra questions about her views on key issues, effectively forestalling a confirmation vote. They do not appear satisfied with the responses they’ve gotten so far.

And finally, Obama has yet to announce a replacement nominee for secretary of Commerce. His first pick, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson , withdrew because of an ongoing grand jury investigation into whether a company won a state contract after contributing to the Democrat’s political causes.