Evan McMullin, who has served as chief policy director of the House Republican conference and as a CIA officer, is launching a third-party presidential campaign.
McMullin's bid — while unusual given his lack of experience in elected office — has support from a number of key players in the Republican movement opposed to party nominee Donald Trump, according to Buzzfeed News, which first reported the news.
McMullin received an MBA from the Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at Goldman Sachs for three years, according to his LinkedIn page.
He has previously posted criticism online of Trump. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, McMullin donated $500 to former Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2011.
The independent campaign would face an uphill battle in a number of respects, given that more than 800,000 signatures are needed to get on the ballot in all 50 states and many deadlines to file have already passed according to politics website Ballotpedia.
A source close to McMullin confirmed that papers are being filed Monday morning. His Twitter profile says he is "Standing up to run for president because it's never too late to do the right thing," and includes a link to a campaign website.
McMullin did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
UPDATED: This story was updated to include information from McMullin's updated Twitter profile.