A Senate committee has scheduled a hearing next week for President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Government Accountability Office, even though the president has not publicly named anyone for the job.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to hear from several Trump nominees on Thursday morning, including a “nominee to be comptroller general,” according to its hearing notice. The comptroller general leads the GAO, Congress’ independent watchdog.

Before the president makes a nomination, a bipartisan panel of 10 lawmakers is supposed to recommend a list of candidates to the White House. Democrats say the process is being rushed in a way that could allow Trump to install an ally at an agency responsible for helping Congress scrutinize the executive branch.

Top Democrats said Wednesday night that they had been given less than 24 hours to submit suggestions for the post. They accused Republicans of running a “sham” process and warned that the result could put “a fox in the henhouse” at the watchdog agency.

The dispute comes as the comptroller general’s role has gained significance during Trump’s second term. Trump has continued to withhold funding directed by Congress, raising questions about enforcement of the decades-old law governing presidential impoundment of funds.

The Supreme Court suggested last year that the GAO may be the only entity with standing to sue the Trump administration under that law. That possibility has heightened the stakes surrounding who will lead the agency, which helps Congress protect its authority and examine executive-branch actions.

The committee’s notice leaves a central question unanswered: who will be asked to testify for the comptroller general position. The hearing is listed alongside appearances by other nominees, but no nomination for the GAO post has yet been announced.

Democrats’ objections focus on both the compressed timeline for recommending candidates and the independence of the office itself. Their criticism frames the selection as a test of Congress’ ability to maintain oversight of a president whose administration could face scrutiny from the agency.