Minority Leader John Boehner said on Wednesday that U. S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, will keep his seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Washington Post has reported that Barton met privately with the Republican caucus and apologized to his colleagues for making a public apology to BP. A source told the newspaper he said had done a poor job of articulating what he meant.

According to Politico, Boehner, R-Ohio, reportedly told members of the caucus it is "time to move on."

He later told reporters, "We should not, though, allow this distraction to get in the way of the real problem: The administration has no plan that will stop the leak in the gulf and help clean up this mess. And frankly, they want to use this distraction in order to push their national energy plan, their cap-and-trade bill."

The Hill further reported that Barton also backtracked after sending out a Twitter about a letter in the American Spectator. A staffer said the tweet was withdrawn after being sent out "without much thought." (With Inputs from Agencies)