WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Tom DeLay, the US House majority leader, was charged on Wednesday by a grand jury in his home state of Texas in a campaign finance scheme, news reports said.

    The indictment could force DeLay, 58, to quit from the position as the House Republican Party majority leader, the No. 2 ranking position in the House of Representatives.

    The Republican leader, representing Texas' 22nd congressional district, in the suburbs southwest of Houston, has been the center of an ethics swirl in Washington.

    An 11-term congressman, DeLay was admonished last year by the House ethics committee on three separate issues. He was also the center of a political storm this year over payment of his and other lawmakers' trips abroad by lobbyists.

    Two of DeLay's political associates were also charged by the grand jury, on the final day of its term.

    The action on Wednesday originated from a plan that DeLay helped set in motion in 2001 to help Republicans win control of the Texas House in the 2002 elections. Enditem