Joe Walsh expected to announce presidential run: report

Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) is reportedly expected to announce his candidacy for president, becoming the second prominent Republican to challenge President TrumpDonald John Trump Former US ambassador: 'Denmark is not a big fan of Donald Trump and his politics' Senate Democrats push for arms control language in defense policy bill Detroit county sheriff endorses Booker for president MORE for the party's nomination.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Walsh, now a radio host, will announce his candidacy as early as the weekend. Walsh argued in an op-ed for the newspaper last week that the president needed a primary challenge from the right and told the Times in an interview that he would announce his intentions before Labor Day.

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Walsh would join former Massachusetts Gov. Bill WeldWilliam (Bill) WeldPhysician: Biden 'more than capable' of handling the rigors of campaign, White House Board member resigns from Republican LGBT group over Trump endorsement Trump challenger: 'All bets are off' if I win New Hampshire primary MORE (R), who announced his candidacy earlier this year, as the second Republican challenger to mount the long-shot challenge against Trump, whose approval rating among Republicans has hovered above 50 percent since he took office in 2017.

The former congressman supported Trump during the 2016 election but has hammered the president for his conduct in the years that followed. Earlier this year, he sharply criticized Trump over behavior outlined in Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerMueller report fades from political conversation Trump calls for probe of Obama book deal Democrats express private disappointment with Mueller testimony MORE's report that detailed the results of the special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign.

"I don't know how anybody can read this report and think, 'This is behavior that we want in our president,'" he told CNN's Brooke Baldwin at the time.

"Criminal behavior, who knows?" he added. "But, boy, dishonest, immoral, unethical? Heck yes it is. And I’ll tell you, Brooke, every Republican on Capitol Hill agrees with what I just said. They can’t say that publicly."

Walsh previously served one term in Congress as a Tea Party-aligned Republican and swiped at Weld as a centrist earlier this month in the Times op-ed.

“The president is more vulnerable to a challenge from the right. I’m on the right, and I’m hugely disappointed that challenge hasn’t yet materialized,” Walsh wrote at the time.