Bishop Marianne Edgar Bude of the Diocese of Washington has announced that he will leave his position on June 3, 2028, after the election and ordination of his successor, writes The Guardian. She has been in charge of the diocese since 2011 and became the first woman to hold this position. Bude announced his decision in a letter to the parishioners. According to him, after consultations with the leadership of the diocese and the office of the presiding bishop, he came to the conclusion that it is time to start preparing for the election of the next leader. The election of the new bishop should take place at the diocesan convention on January 29, 2028, and his consecration and ordination is scheduled for June 3. On that very day, Bude's service will end. Boudet, now 66, rose to prominence in January 2025 after his sermon at the National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C., the day after Donald Trump's second inauguration. He called on the US president to "show mercy" to migrants and representatives of the LGBT community, including children, who, according to him, fear for their lives. Trump reacted sharply to the speech and demanded an apology from Bude and the church. He called his speech irrelevant and declared that the bishop "doesn't do his job very well". This was not Bude's first public conflict with Trump. During the latter's first term, he spoke out against the president's use of religious symbols after Trump was photographed with a Bible outside St. John's Church in Washington, D.C., following the killing of George Floyd. Against the background of the protests that took place after However, in his current letter, Bude does not associate the decision to leave with political differences. He stated that he intends to provide the strongest and most stable transition to the new leadership together with the employees and governing bodies of the diocese. Bude's successor will become the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Washington.