Bishop Mariann Budde, who famously criticized Trump during an inaugural prayer service, has been found to have pocketed a staggering $53 million in taxpayer funds through her organization, Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM).
This bombshell comes as no surprise to those who see through the sanctimonious veneer of left-wing religious leaders who preach compassion while filling their coffers with public money.
Bishop Budde, during an inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, implored President Trump to show compassion towards vulnerable groups, including illegal aliens and members of the LGBTQ community.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” Budde began. “As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.”
“In the name of a loving God, to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now, she stated. “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
Trump responded to Budde’s antics in a late-night post to Truth Social, asserting that she and the church owe the public an apology.
The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.
Budde’s moral posturing conveniently omits the fact that the Episcopal Migration Ministry (EMM), the federal contracting arm of her church, has been profiting immensely from taxpayer-funded government programs aimed at resettling migrants.
In 2023 alone, EMM raked in $53 million to resettle 3,600 individuals, according to the New York Post.
The news outlet added that in 2024, EMM “sponsored” 6,400 individuals from 48 countries, including Afghans under a special humanitarian program and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These new arrivals are immediately eligible for all forms of welfare, such as Medicaid and cash assistance, on the same basis as U.S. citizens. Further, they can sponsor friends and relatives under a recent Biden expansion of the refugee resettlement program. Since EMM’s ability to lobby is restricted, the Episcopal Church itself, being a separate legal entity from EMM, lobbies in D.C. for more programs that benefit EMM.
Then there is the public-private partnership program misnamed “Matching Grant.” To get $1 of Department of Health and Human Services money, EMM must contribute just 10 cents, along with 90 cents worth of used cars, furniture, and monetized volunteer time.
The Episcopal Church also earns a commission for collecting on travel loans made to refugees resettled by EMM.
Here’s how it works: The U.S. taxpayer funds the International Organization for Migration, which loans money for airfare for the refugee’s flight to America. If the refugee pays the interest-free loan back, the church (not EMM) pockets 25% of the money. If the loan is not paid back, no one is the worse off, except the taxpayer.
