Pope Francis is moving the head of San Diego’s Roman Catholic Diocese to Washington, D.C., placing a prominent ally, as well as a supporter of migrant and LGBTQ communities, in the nation’s capital as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to launch mass deportations and a rollback of transgender rights.

McElroy was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as Bishop in San Diego in 2015 and in 2022 was elevated to Cardinal. He replaces retiring Cardinal Wilton Gregory,77, as Archbishop in the district that includes the nation’s capitol and is home to more than 667,000 Catholics.

Robert McElroy, 70, is expected to be named to the high-profile Roman Catholic post in the nation's capital, according to the National Catholic Reporter, followed by other sources.