Bishop Whose Plea Angered Trump to Leave

An Episcopal bishop who publicly urged President Trump to "have mercy" on immigrants and LGBTQ+ Americans after his second inauguration is planning her departure. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington, DC, said in a letter that she will step down on June 3, 2028, after a new diocesan bishop is chosen and installed. The standing committee will start the succession process next week, the Guardian reports. The first woman to lead the diocese, Budde, 66, has held the post since 2011.

The bishop has repeatedly clashed with Trump, including in a New York Times op-ed condemning his Bible-in-hand photo op outside St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House. At the January 2025 inaugural prayer service, Budde brought up Trump's references to God saving him from assassination in Pennsylvania. "You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now," she said, per WRC. Trump later attacked the bishop, calling her nasty and saying he was owed an apology.