Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) was recently revealed to have earned approximately $53 million in 2023 from various taxpayer-funded government programs to resettle thousands of immigrants. The findings led some to conclude that Budde had a financial motive behind her message to President Donald Trump last month.
As background, Budde delivered a sermon before Trump at the National Prayer Service shortly after his inauguration. However, instead of preaching a traditional Christian message that could be heard in most churches, the bishop leaned into more liberal forms of Christian theology, urging Trump to show “mercy” toward the LGBT community and illegal immigrants.
Reports have indicated that President Trump’s pause on resettlement programs has interrupted the federal contracts the EMM has received. In 2024, the organization reportedly sponsored 6,400 individuals from 48 different countries to be resettled under a special humanitarian program. Some concluded that the move is “hurting” Budde’s “business.”
Conservative commentator Tara Bull wrote on X, “It has been uncovered that Bishop Mariann Budde’s Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) collected $53 million from Govt programs in 2023 for “Immigrant Resettlement”.” She then stated, “So Trump is actually hurting her business. It’s all starting to make sense now.”
Budde pleaded with Trump during her sermon,”Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,
millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God in the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now there are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
She continued, “And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
The bishop added, “They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, WADA and temples, I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here, our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we will all want strangers in This land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being.”
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Watch the sermon below:
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk reacted to the message on X, writing, “Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She’s the first woman to hold the position. She was given a great honor today, a chance to unify America around a Christian message at the dawn of a new administration. Instead, she disgraced herself with a lecture you’d hear on CNN or an episode of The View.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.