Madison Sheahan didn’t spend long easing into power. At just 28, the deputy director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday that she is resigning from her post to run for Congress in Ohio, trading a senior enforcement role for a shot at elected office.
According to CNN, Sheahan is running in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, a seat held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur since 1983. It’s one of only 13 districts Trump won in 2024 that is still represented by a Democrat in Congress, making it an immediate Republican target.
Her exit comes at a tense moment for ICE.
REMINDER: The Deputy Director of ICE is 28 year old, Madison D. Sheahan, who served as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Gee, I wonder why ICE is out of control. pic.twitter.com/IBM1pNsDW0
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) January 9, 2026
The agency has been under intense scrutiny for its aggressive deportation operations, especially after the fatal shooting last week of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer. Protests have spread, and President Donald Trump has warned he could invoke the Insurrection Act if unrest escalates.
Sheahan has been one of the most visible faces of the agency during that crackdown.
Installed as ICE’s deputy director in March after a leadership overhaul, she quickly became a trusted lieutenant to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Before that, Sheahan worked as Noem’s political director when Noem was governor of South Dakota.
Noem praised her again Thursday, per CBS News, calling Sheahan “a work horse” and “a terrific leader” who helped carry out what she described as the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal undocumented immigrants.
Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump and @Sec_Noem, for your leadership and steadfast commitment to Defend the Homeland.
As I depart @ICEgov today, I am proud of the work we have done to protect American families and I am grateful for the brave men and women serving at ICE. pic.twitter.com/x9vgAe39Qf
— ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan (@ICEDeputy) January 15, 2026
“She will be a great defender of freedom when she goes to Congress,” Noem said. Inside ICE, the picture has been more complicated.
Sheahan oversaw a massive hiring push and was credited by allies with restoring what they called the agency’s “purpose.” However, many have questioned her rapid rise and pointed to her limited law enforcement background.
Before joining ICE, Sheahan served as secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a role that raised eyebrows when she was elevated to the agency’s No. 2 position. Some law enforcement leaders also criticized her last year after emails urged their deputies to apply for ICE jobs.
Sheahan brushed off those concerns in a farewell message to staff, thanking Trump and Noem and calling her time at ICE “the honor of my life.”
Madison Sheahan, a 28-year-old former fish cop who Trump up-jumped to No. 2 at ICE, is the newest candidate in #OH09:
“I absolutely think I’m qualified for the job. Because at the end of the day, what really makes anybody qualified for any job?” pic.twitter.com/wmkmRuMzBw
— The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) January 15, 2026
On the campaign trail, she’s leaning hard into her biography. Sheahan grew up in Ohio, attended Ohio State University, and describes herself as a “Trump conservative” who’s frustrated with rising costs and what she says is Washington’s indifference to working families.
“I’m tired of watching my hard-working family, friends and neighbors pay more and get ignored,” she said in her campaign announcement video via X. Her slogan is blunt: “No Excuses. Let’s Get It Done.”
The contrast she’s drawing is clear. Kaptur has represented the district for more than four decades. Sheahan is pitching herself as a young enforcer-turned-outsider who knows how to “execute” rather than legislate. Sheahan’s career move shows how immigration policy is becoming a direct pipeline to political power inside Trump’s second-term orbit.
For ICE, it means losing a fast-rising deputy at a volatile moment. For Ohio, it means one of the most entrenched Democratic seats in the state just got a very different kind of challenger.
And for Sheahan, the leap from federal enforcer to candidate is no small one — especially with the spotlight now firmly on her record, not just her résumé.
