A Republican opposed to the firing of the House chaplain wants the House to vote on whether to keep him.
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has been outspoken in his opposition to Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to dismiss the chaplain, Father Patrick Conroy, whose last day in Congress is May 24. He sent a letter to Ryan Wednesday, asking him to find some way to reinstate Conroy.
“Mr. Speaker, you have an opportunity to revisit this matter, and I respectfully urge you to take it,” he wrote. “You can utilize the temporary authority granted by the Legislative Reorganization Act to re-elect Father Conroy to serve the remaining eight months of his term.”
“You could also move a privileged resolution to the floor and allow the House to vote to do the same,” he added. “Either way, it should be done.”
Jones argued the dismissal should have been considered by the full House and not announced late at night.
“With all due respect, that process reflects very poorly on the House,” he wrote. “It appears the decision was made to minimize the input of members, and executed surreptitiously to overcome what was likely to be their overwhelming objections. It appears intentionally underhanded, and that is deeply disappointing!”
Ryan, R-Wis., who is retiring this year, said he asked for Conroy to resign because members complained of a lack of pastoral services. He said a bipartisan committee will be used to select a replacement.
Jones has been joined by dozens of Democrats in opposition to Conroy’s dismissal, which they believe was prompted by Ryan’s opposition to an opening prayer that called for fairness in the tax reform overhaul.
