The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington who became a well-known figure in large part for her disputes with President Donald Trump, has announced her resignation.
Budde said in a letter addressed to friends of the Diocese of Washington that “it is time to begin preparing for the election of your next bishop.”
“This is not a goodbye — it’s the beginning of a sacred process,” Budde said in the statement.
She told Religion News Service that she plans to move back to her home state of Minnesota.
The first woman to be elected as the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Budde has served since 2011. In recent years, her profile became synonymous with resisting Trump.
Perhaps most notably, during the interfaith inauguration prayer service to mark Trump’s second term, she pleaded with him to “have mercy” on immigrants, LGBTQ children and others.
“In the name of God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said.
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