Cheney to be vice chair of U.S. House panel on Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON • U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will serve as vice chair of the congressional select committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, an appointment likely to draw the ire of some of her fellow Republicans.
Bennie Thompson, the panel’s Democratic chairman, announced the appointment in a statement on Thursday that said Cheney demonstrated “again and again” a commitment to getting answers.
“Her leadership and insights have shaped the early work of the Select Committee and this appointment underscores the bipartisan nature of this effort,” he said.
Lawmakers closely aligned with Republican former President Donald Trump have been critical of Cheney, a three-term House member and daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.
One of two Republican select committee members, Cheney was stripped of her leadership role in the House Republican caucus after denouncing Trump’s false assertions of voter fraud in his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Cheney said on Thursday the panel intended to conduct a nonpartisan, professional and thorough investigation.
“We owe it to the American people to investigate everything that led up to, and transpired on, January 6th,” she said in a statement.
House Democrats formed the committee, despite objections from Trump’s fellow Republicans, to investigate the assault on the Capitol as Congress was meeting to certify the Biden’s election victory.
FILE – In this July 27, 2021 file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., listens to testimony from Washington Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges during the House select committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democrats have promoted Republican Rep. Liz Cheney to vice chairwoman of a committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. They’re placing Cheney in a leadership spot on the panel as some members of the GOP caucus are threatening to oust her for participating. Cheney is a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump and has remained defiant amid the criticism from her own party. (Jim Bourg/Pool via AP)