House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) dismissal of House Chaplain Rev. Patrick Conroy earlier this month has stirred up outrage and wide-ranging speculation, according to a Thursday afternoon Washington Post report.
In Ryan’s original press release, the ouster was painted as a voluntary resignation; only in recent days have details fully emerged confirming that it was a firing, according to the Washington Post.
A letter from a bipartisan group of lawmakers is reportedly circulating currently, collecting signatures to request more information from Ryan about the dismissal.
According to the Hill, unnamed sources are guessing that Ryan fired Conroy over as wide a range of issues as voicing disquiet with the GOP tax bill through a prayer to inviting a Muslim to deliver one day’s opening invocation.
Conroy has been the House chaplain since 2011 and, as a Jesuit, is only the second Catholic ever to hold the post.
