Update 8:45 a.m. | A spokesman for Rep. Mark Walkertold USA Today that the congressman was stepping down from the group searching for a new House chaplain.

Emotions are running high in the House as members grapple with Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s decision to fire House Chaplain Patrick J. Conroy. And religious tensions started to spill into public view last week before lawmakers departed Washington for a one-week recess.

“This is ugly,” Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri said. “There’s only division coming out of this. Not anything positive.”

Democrats and even some Republicans are raising questions about freedom of religion after Ryan requested the resignation of Father Conroy, a Jesuit priest who has served as House chaplain for seven years. Conroy complied, sending the speaker a letter of resignation April 15 that was read on the House floor last week.

Watch: What We Know About the House Chaplain Controversy So Far