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updated 10:23 a.m. ET Nov. 20, 2006

CAPITOL HILL - President Bush's choice to head the Pentagon goes back up to Capitol Hill today.

Robert Gates may not find the going as smooth as he did Friday, when top Senate Democrat Harry Reid was among those endorsing him.

Gates is due to meet today with Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Levin was among those who voted against Gates becoming C-I-A director in 1991. He says he won't make up his mind about the Pentagon job until after Gates' confirmation hearings next month.

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Reid says Democrats are anxious to get Donald Rumsfeld's replacement confirmed, and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner says Republicans hope to get it done by the end of the year.