Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is losing steam and money as he has fired about a dozen staffers with more dismissals expected in the coming weeks after less than two months on the campaign trail. 

According to a source familiar with the firings, those dismissed were described as mid-level staffers across various departments whose departures were related to cutting costs. These recent dismissals follow the departures of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, veterans of the Florida Governor's political circle, which were first reported by Politico.

Sources involved with the presidential hopeful’s campaign say that it hired too many staffers too early. Even after bringing in $20 million during its first six weeks, it soon became clear to the campaign that costs needed to decrease if they wanted a chance to survive. 

Some blame has been put on the campaign manager Generra Peck, who also led DeSantis’ 2022 midterm re-election bid. 

During a Sunday appearance on Fox News, DeSantis was asked about the firings to which he responded "the media does not want me to be the nominee."

"I think it's interesting that they're talking about some of this campaign process," he said about the reports, before noting the high totals of his fundraising haul.

A Republican source familiar with the campaign’s thought process said: “They never should have brought so many people on. The burn rate was way too high. People warned the campaign manager, but she wanted to hear none of it.”

The donor said: “DeSantis stock isn’t rising. Twenty percent is not what people signed up for.”

The person said that DeSantis has been known for routinely rotating staffers. He’s had three different campaign teams for each of his three runs for Congress, as well as during his first run for governor in 2018.

"Americans are rallying behind Ron DeSantis and his plan to reverse Joe Biden’s failures and restore sanity to our nation, and his momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in-person, especially in Iowa. Defeating Joe Biden and the $72 million behind him will require a nimble and candidate driven campaign, and we are building a movement to go the distance," DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement.

The Republican candidate has $12 million in the bank with $3 million of that to be used only during the general election. $14 million of his second-quarter earnings came from donors who gave the maximum legal amount, which means several early donors will not be able to give to his campaign for the rest of the race. 

Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, has said it will spend up to $200 million to help DeSantis in his efforts to overcome former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.