On January 21st, 2025, Bishop Mariann Budde gave a homily that sent the Trump administration into a fury.
Just a day after his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and their accompanying family members attended an interdisciplinary service held at the Washington National Cathedral. During the homily by Budde, she directly addressed President Trump in a “final plea,” asking that he show “mercy” to those who may be affected by his future policy, specifically LGBTQ+ children and undocumented immigrants.
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children […] who fear for their lives,” Budde stated. Later, she would go on to emphasize that many undocumented immigrants are valuable citizens to the United States, and “good neighbors.”
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President,” Budde pleaded during her homily, “on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.”
Bishop Budde’s statements drew criticisms from Trump supporters and Republicans. Georgia Congressman Mike Collins wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Bishop Budde should be “added to the deportation list.” Bishop Budde is a United States Citizen, having been born in New Jersey. Notable conservative commentator Tucker Carlson called the sermon divisive and “pagan.”
President Trump himself called the sermon “boring” and demanded an apology from Budde. However, many on the left praised the bishop for what they called courage in addressing the current president so brazenly. Rachel Maddow summarized Budde’s homily as a speech about “compassion, humility, kindness.” Joy Behar from ABC’s “The View” said that Budde had “more fearlessness than anyone in Congress right now.”
Budde has notably criticized Trump before, such as when Trump cleared out peaceful protestors in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church to pose for photos in 2020. She would also join many other religious leaders in condemning Trump for “radicalized rhetoric” that allegedly led to the Jan. 6 riots.
While many may find the comments made by Budde to be controversial for a bishop, Budde’s resume prior to this supports her assertions.
Bishop Budde has been no stranger to social justice in the years prior to the Trump administration. She herself is the first female bishop of the Washington National Cathedral. Budde interred the ashes of Matthew Shepard, a queer college student who was killed in a vicious hate crime in 1998, and helped carry out the service at the request of Shepard’s mother. Budde also helped oversee the removal of stained glass murals dedicated to Confederate figures such as Robert E. Lee in 2023. They were later replaced with murals commemorating the acts of Black Civil Rights protestors.
While rumors online circulated about Bishop Budde being removed from the Washington National Cathedral, they later proved to be untrue. As of publication, Bishop Budde retains her position. On Jan. 22, The Episcopal Church released a statement backing the bishop and her “appeal for the Christian values of mercy and compassion.”
In an interview with NPR, Budde stated that she refused to apologize, but emphasized that she did not “hate” the president, and that she “prays for him.”
