One of the key figures behind President Trump’s tough immigration agenda is stepping down from her role at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run for Congress. Madison Sheahan, the agency’s second-in-command, announced Thursday that she is resigning to seek the Republican nomination in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District.
Sheahan, 28, is aiming to challenge Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who has represented the district for more than four decades, according to the New York Times. In a campaign launch video, Sheahan described herself as “a Trump conservative” and highlighted her involvement in carrying out the administration’s deportation policies. “In less than one year at ICE, I’ve stopped more illegal immigration than Marcy Kaptur has in her 43 years in Washington,” she said.
Kaptur, 79, was first elected in 1982 and long held a safely Democratic seat in northwest Ohio. However, Republican-led redistricting ahead of the 2022 elections made the district more competitive, and a GOP-controlled commission approved a new map last fall that further favors Republicans. Kaptur narrowly won reelection in 2024 by less than one percentage point, even as President Trump carried the district by seven points over Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Republican primary is expected to be crowded. Former state lawmaker Derek Merrin, who nearly defeated Kaptur in the last election, is running again, along with several other candidates, including state Rep. Josh Williams. Kaptur’s campaign welcomed what it called a “messy primary” among Republicans, Axios reported.
“Voters are tired of the self-dealing corruption and culture of lawlessness they’ve seen over the last year,” Kaptur’s campaign said in a statement. “They want a leader focused on affordability and real results, and Marcy Kaptur consistently works across the aisle to deliver both.”
Before joining ICE, Sheahan worked for Kristi Noem during her tenure as governor of South Dakota and later led Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Her appointment as ICE’s deputy director drew criticism from some agency officials who argued she lacked sufficient law enforcement experience. Noem defended the choice, calling Sheahan a “terrific leader” in a statement to CBS News.
In her resignation letter, obtained by NBC News, Sheahan wrote, “When the call came to help President Trump clean up the dangerous immigration mess, as Deputy Director of ICE, I answered the call.”