There’s still not a lot of clarity regarding the resignation of House chaplain Patrick J. Conroy. Speaker Paul Ryan was asked about it at an event in Milwaukee on Monday. “This is not about politics or prayers, it was about pastoral services,” Ryan said during an interview at The Weekly Standard’s Midwest Conservative Summit. “A number of our members felt the pastoral services were not being adequately served, or offered.”
Ryan, the Janesville Republican representing Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, didn’t elaborate. Also on Monday, 2nd District Congressman Mark Pocan, a Democrat, said members want to know more about what he called a “bizarre” situation.
“We just want information about why. If there’s a different, legitimate reason, put it on the table,” Pocan said, adding that Ryan has been “avoiding this conversation.” Some Republicans were reportedly irked, by a prayer that the Jesuit priest offered prior to debate on the GOP tax cuts.