Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are urging President Trump to choose Air Force secretary Heather Wilson to replace outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis. 

I agree with @SenJoniErnst that Heather Wilson would be a great Secretary of Defense. @SecAFOfficial Wilson embodies the core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. https://t.co/Kgsex1oZpG

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 24, 2018

{mosads}Trump announced on Sunday that Mattis, who resigned in disagreement with the president last week, would leave his job on Jan. 1, two months before his planned departure. 

Mattis’s deputy, Patrick Shanahan, will serve as acting Pentagon chief.

Several names have emerged as possible front-runners to succeed Mattis.

Trump once reportedly considered firing Wilson over her handling of his proposed “Space Force,” Foreign Policy reported earlier this year.

Wilson reportedly angered Trump and Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan with a perceived campaign to undermine Trump’s order to launch the “Space Force,” a new military branch.

“There is no discussion by the President to oust Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson – all reporting to the contrary is simply false,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in an email at the time.

Wilson opposed the idea of a separate branch of the military for space last year, but she has said she is in “complete alignment” with Trump’s new push. 

-Updated 11:19 p.m.