President-elect Donald Trump is considering replacing embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to two sources familiar with the decision-making process.

DeSantis is “very controversial,” one source said.

Another told NBC News that Trump and DeSantis spoke directly about the issue.

“Trump has spoken to the governor and wants him to,” a source familiar with the conversation told NBC News on Tuesday night.

NBC News reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s nomination is in jeopardy because up to six Republican senators are wavering in their support for him.

The Wall Street Journal first reported overnight that DeSantis was being considered for the Cabinet post.

Other possible candidates for the top Pentagon job include Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., according to two sources familiar with the decision-making.

Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, whom Trump chose as White House national security adviser, is also a possible candidate to lead the Pentagon, two other sources said.

Senators with reservations about Hegseth have expressed concern about the allegations against him and his drinking, as well as reports about his treatment of women. Hegseth denied that he had abused women and did not answer when asked about the DUI allegations Tuesday night.

DeSantis, for his part, challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in this 2024 cycle and dropped out of the race in January, just days before the New Hampshire primary.

He immediately supported Trump, although the two feuded during the campaign and the former president nicknamed DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious.” Unlike many of Trump’s other suggestions for his future Cabinet, DeSantis has stated that Trump lost the 2020 election, while others echoed the president-elect’s comments that the election was stolen.

DeSantis was in the Navy and served in the Iraq War, eventually earning the rank of first lieutenant.

Ernst, meanwhile, served in the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard, eventually reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. She also served in the Iraq War.

Hagerty has no military experience. Before joining Congress in 2021, he served as U.S. ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration.