Republican Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen unveiled a resolution Thursday condemning left-wing Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s sermon during the National Prayer Service that called for the protection of transgender kids and illegal migrants.
Budde pleaded with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to “have mercy” on those who allegedly “fear for their lives” with the president returning to the Oval Office, drawing visible displeasure from Vance and members of the Trump family during Tuesday’s inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Brecheen’s resolution denounces Budde for “promoting political bias instead of advocating for the full counsel of biblical teaching” during her sermon, according to the resolution’s text exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Today, I introduced a resolution to fully condemn the distorted message that was preached at President Trump during the National Prayer Service on Monday,” Brecheen told the DCNF in a statement. “I strongly urge my colleagues to act quickly on this resolution to show President Trump that the sermon given is not reflective of the faith community at large.”
The conservative House lawmaker left the inaugural prayer service in protest early following Budde’s decision to engage in political activism during her sermon, according to a post Brecheen wrote on X Tuesday.
I purposely left the prayer service early after realizing how the pulpit was being used for liberal means and not for true worship unto God and to seek His will and wisdom.
Mr. President … what accosted you today was political, not Biblical.https://t.co/fpJWORk4NM
— Congressman Josh Brecheen (@RepBrecheen) January 22, 2025
Cosponsors of Brecheen’s resolution include Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Mary Miller of Illinois and Mark Harris of North Carolina.
Budde’s exhortation of Trump to protect gay children and immigrants comes after the president has tapped many gay and lesbian Americans to senior posts in his administration, including Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent, who will be the highest ranking openly gay official to serve in the federal government in American history upon confirmation. The president has also asked various Americans from immigrant backgrounds to serve in his White House, including Department of Government Efficiency chair Elon Musk, AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks and AI adviser Sriram Krishnan.
“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 on the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde told Trump during the service. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
“And 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, who work the night shifts in hospitals,” Budde added. “They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors, they are faithful members of churches and our mosques, synagogues and temples.”
Trump slammed Budde in a Truth Social post written shortly after midnight Wednesday, demanding an apology from the female bishop for making “inappropriate statements” from the pulpit.
“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” Trump said. “She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!”
Budde told NPR’s “All Things Considered” Wednesday that she does not plan on apologizing to the president.
“I don’t hate the president, and I pray for him,” Budde told NPR. “I don’t feel there’s a need to apologize for a request for mercy.”
“I regret that it was something that has caused the kind of response that it has, in the sense that it actually confirmed the very thing that I was speaking of earlier, which is our tendency to jump to outrage and not speak to one another with respect,” Budde added. “But no, I won’t, I won’t apologize for what I said.”
Budde did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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