Episcopal bishop who urged Trump to ‘have mercy’ to resign post in Washington DC

Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, DC, has announced she will step down. In a letter to the diocese, she said she will leave on June 3, 2028, once her successor has been consecrated and ordained. She explained that she reached the decision after consulting diocesan leadership and the Presiding Bishop's office, and that the diocese should begin preparing to elect a new bishop. The standing committee is expected to lay out the process next week, including the creation of two committees to handle the work. Budde wrote that she is committed to a strong and healthy transition, according to The Guardian.

Budde, 66, has led the diocese since her election in 2011 and is the first woman to hold the post. Earlier she spent 18 years as rector of St. John's Episcopal church in Minneapolis.

She became a national figure after President Donald Trump's second inauguration, when she used her sermon at the National Day of Prayer service to ask him to show mercy toward immigrants and toward gay, lesbian and transgender children, some of whom she said fear for their lives. Trump responded on social media by calling her tone nasty and demanding that she and her church apologize.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →