Step down follows 2025 sermon urging Trump to show mercy
In a resignation letter shared with the diocese, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde announced she will step down as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, with her departure set for June 3, 2028, following the consecration and ordination of her successor.
Budde said she had reached the decision “in consultation with diocesan leadership and the Presiding Bishop’s office.” “I have not come to this decision lightly or alone, and it will not be easy to say goodbye to the diocese I love,” her letter said. Next week, the diocese’s standing committee is expected to outline the steps for selecting her replacement, including the appointment of two committees.
Budde, 66, is the first woman to serve as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She was elected to the role in 2011 after spending 18 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.
The bishop drew national attention in January 2025 when she delivered a sermon at the Washington National Cathedral following Trump’s second inauguration. She called on the president to show mercy to “gay, lesbian and transgender children” from all political backgrounds, some of whom, she said, “fear for their lives.” The remarks placed her at the center of an immediate dispute with the new administration.
Trump responded on social media demanding an apology, writing that Budde “brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way” and was “nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.” The president added: “Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”
It was not the first time Budde had clashed with Trump. During his first term, after federal officers used force to clear peaceful protesters near St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington following the police killing of George Floyd, Budde published an opinion piece in the New York Times criticizing Trump’s decision to pose for photographs at the church holding a Bible. She wrote that Trump had “used sacred symbols to cloak himself in the mantle of spiritual authority, while espousing positions antithetical to the Bible that he held in his hands.”
Looking toward her departure, the bishop said she is committed to ensuring a strong and healthy transition for her successor. “Alongside the diocesan staff and leadership bodies, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the diocese is as strong and healthy as possible for this leadership transition,” she wrote. “I am praying for all involved, and especially for the one God is preparing to serve as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Washington.”