President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Both lawmakers led the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the Capitol.
“The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice,” the White House said in announcing the recipients.
Thompson and Cheney served as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the House panel investigating the events that led up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.
After 18 months, the committee released a damning report outlining Trump’s refusal to act to stop his supporters who were in the Capitol hunting down lawmakers.
The committee also voted to refer Trump for criminal prosecution over his efforts to subvert the peaceful transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6.
In a statement, the White House praised Cheney for working across the aisle.
“Throughout two decades in public service, including as a Congresswoman for Wyoming and Vice Chair of the Committee on the January 6 attack, Liz Cheney has raised her voice—and reached across the aisle—to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency,” the White House wrote. “Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together.”
The White House statement lauded Thompson writing: “Born and raised in a segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered southern Black voters. That call to serve eventually led him to Congress, where he chaired the House January 6th Committee—at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to truth.”
Biden will deliver remarks and present the awards to Thompson, Cheney and more than a dozen other recipients at the White House later Thursday.
