Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde of Washington to step down in 2028 after successor is chosen

The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, announced on Thursday, Oct. 1, that she will resign. In a letter to friends of the diocese, she wrote that "it is time to begin preparing for the election of your next bishop." She said she made the decision in consultation with diocesan leadership and the Episcopal Church's 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," she wrote.

According to the letter, as reported by NBC4 Washington and WJLA, the next bishop will be elected at the diocesan convention on Jan. 29, 2028. The new bishop will be ordained and consecrated on June 3, 2028, and Budde will step down then. The Washington Post reported that she plans to move back to her home state of Minnesota.

Budde has led the diocese since 2011 and was the first woman elected to the post. She became widely known in January 2025 when, at the national prayer service at Washington National Cathedral after President Donald Trump's second inauguration, she asked him to "have mercy" on people in the country who were frightened, including immigrants and LGBTQ people. Trump criticized the sermon and called for an apology.