House chaplain wins job back after scalding letter to Ryan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The embattled chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives has won his job back just hours after sending a scalding letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan that accused a top Ryan staff aide of telling him "something like 'maybe it's time that we had a Chaplain that wasn't a Catholic.'"

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, forced Reverend Pat Conroy to tender his resignation last month, sparking a firestorm. Ryan has said he was dissatisfied with Conroy's pastoral care to lawmakers.

But in a statement Thursday, Ryan — himself a Catholic — reversed course.

"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 position," Ryan said.