ICE Deputy Director Resigns to Launch Congressional Campaign in Key Ohio District

Washington D.C., Thursday, 15 January 2026.
On January 15, 2026, Madison Sheahan, the Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), resigned to challenge the longest-serving woman in Congress, Democrat Marcy Kaptur, in Ohio’s 9th District. A key ally of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the 28-year-old Sheahan presided over a period of aggressive agency transformation, overseeing a budget surge from $10 billion to $85 billion and the hiring of 12,000 officers within six months. Her pivot to legislative politics occurs as ICE faces intensified scrutiny, including investigations into rapid hiring practices and the recent death of a protester, highlighting the complex intersection of federal enforcement strategy and electoral ambitions in the midterm cycle.