House chaplain retracts resignation, and Speaker Ryan lets him remain in post

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan reversed his decision to oust House chaplain Patrick Conroy on Thursday after Conroy challenged his forced resignation and essentially dared Ryan to fire him.

In a remarkable two-page letter to Ryan, Conroy disputed the speaker's public explanation for removing him and said he wanted to retract the resignation letter he submitted at Ryan’s direction last month.

“I have never been disciplined, nor reprimanded, nor have I ever heard a complaint about my ministry during my time as House chaplain,” Conroy, a Catholic priest, wrote in a letter to Ryan. “It is my desire to continue to serve as House chaplain in this 115th United States Congress and beyond …”

Hours after Conroy's letter became public, Ryan said he accepted Conroy’s retraction and "decided that he will remain in his position as Chaplain of the House." The Wisconsin GOP leader defended his original decision, saying it "was made in what I believed to be the best interest of this institution."

Ryan asked Conroy to resign in mid-April — a move that has sparked a backlash in both parties and across religious lines among lawmakers who felt blindsided by the House speaker’s decision and felt Conroy was treated unfairly.

Conroy, in his letter on Thursday, said that Ryan never spoke with him directly about his ouster. He said Ryan dispatched his chief of staff, Jonathan Burks, to ask for his resignation.

When Conroy asked why, “Mr. Burks mentioned dismissively something like ‘maybe it’s time that we had a chaplain that wasn’t a Catholic,’” Conroy stated in the letter.

Conroy said Burks also mentioned a prayer Conroy had delivered in November, as Republicans were preparing to vote on their tax cut bill, that urged lawmakers not to create “winners and losers” and to keep in mind those who “continue to struggle.”

In a statement Thursday, Burks disputed Conroy's account. "I strongly disagree with Father Conroy’s recollection of our conversation," Burks said. "I am disappointed by the misunderstanding, but wish him the best as he continues to serve the House.”

Conroy said he initially felt he had “little choice but to resign,” but had since reconsidered – especially in light of comments Ryan made on Monday saying he fired the chaplain because “a number of our members felt like the pastoral services were not being adequately served, or offered."

Ryan, who is also Catholic, repeated that in his statement on Thursday. "To be clear, that decision was based on my duty to ensure that the House has the kind of pastoral services that it deserves," the speaker said.

Conroy said questions about his pastoral services never came up in his conversation with Burks.

"In fact, no such criticism has ever been leveled against me during my tenure as House chaplain," Conroy wrote in the letter to Ryan. “ ... You may wish to outright ‘fire’ me, if you have the authority to do so, but should you wish to terminate my services, it will be without my offer of resignation.”

For the House chaplain to push back so publicly against the House speaker was remarkable. In reversing himself on Thursday, Ryan clearly hoped to quell a politically-and religiously-tinged fight that had escalated in recent days and threatened to serve as a distraction as Republicans head into a tough 2018 election season.

"It is my job as speaker to do what is best for this body, and I know that this body is not well served by a protracted fight over such an important post," Ryan said. "I intend to sit down with Father Conroy early next week so that we can move forward for the good of the whole House.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she welcomed Ryan's decision to let Conroy stay in his post.

"However, many distressing questions must still be answered about the motivations behind Father Conroy’s unwarranted and unjust dismissal,” Pelosi said.