If he wants to act unilaterally, and without explanation, he should not be surprised at this reaction.
The diocesan bishop has a right to be obeyed in his directives. Priests and deacons act only by his authority and he should be obeyed in all things except sin. St. Ignatius writes to the Ephesians:
So then it becometh you to run in harmony with the mind of the bishop; which thing also ye do. For your honourable presbytery, which is worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop, even as its strings to a lyre. Therefore in your concord and harmonious love Jesus Christ is sung. (4:1)
You speak as if the bishop ought to expect disobedience, but that is the exact opposite of the proper situation. The solution here would seem to be teaching priests to follow the bishop's directives, not changing the governmental style of the bishop.
If every bishop in the United States were having this problem over the washing of the feet, I'd agree with you.
There appears to be something about Donoghue's style that is out of sync, not only with his brother bishops, but with his own priests.
Not a good thing for a bishop to be undermined by his priests.
In this case, the fault is not with the priests.