Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, a vocal defender of migrants and critic of Donald Trump’s first administration, as the next archbishop of Washington, DC.

Cardinal Robert McElroy has supported migrants and said the church should be more inclusive to women and LGBT people.

The pope’s move put a vocal supporter of migrants at the top post in Washington just weeks before Trump is sworn in for a second term.

The nation's capital woke up to a winter wonderland on Monday as an ongoing winter storm tracked across more than two dozen states, bringing the highest snow totals to the region in years.

Washington, D.C., received heavy snow as President-elect Donald Trump’s victory was certified. Taking advantage of the rare snowstorm in the nation’s capital, revelers engaged in a snowball fight at Meridian Hill Park.

A major winter storm covers Washington, DC, in snow. Residents of the US capital take part in a giant snowball fight and remove snow from sidewalks and cars. The storm blanketed a large swath of the central and eastern United States in snow and ice -- disrupting travel for millions and contributing to at least five deaths -- before heading offshore.