Pope’s pick for Washington archbishop sets stage for conflict with Trump, experts say

Appointment of progressive Robert McElroy comes as rightwing Catholics wield significant influence in US capital

When the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, sought to shut down a Catholic charity that was was providing shelter and aid to undocumented migrants at the border, the San Diego cardinal, Robert McElroy, took a robust public stand against the attempt.

The state of Texas is using governmental pressure to curtail the work of the Church in one of its most fundamental obligations: to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, and to provide drink to the thirsty," McElroy said in a statement at the time. No government can morally tell us to abandon or limit this mission."