Under normal circumstances, senators might act quickly to advance and confirm a president’s nominees to be U.S. attorneys across the country.

But with President Donald Trump in office, nothing is proving to be ordinary.

The abrupt dismissal of 46 holdover U.S. attorneys from the Obama administration, and confusion over the way it was done, could set the stage for a protracted political struggle. Senate Republicans seeking to replace the fired attorneys could face determined resistance from Democrats who may try hard to slow down the process.

When news broke Friday that the attorneys had been asked to resign, Senate Judiciary ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein was quick to make public that she had been previously told by White House Counsel Donald McGahn that there would be an orderly process for replacing the prosecutors.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday it was “standard practice” for a new administration to ask for the resignations of political appointees in the Justice Department and other federal agencies.