Biden To Award Presidential Citizens Medal To January 6 Committee Leaders

President Joe Biden is awarding the leaders of the congressional committee tasked with investigating the January 6 Capitol riot with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian award.

Biden is honoring former Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, alongside Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, according to a White House press release published Thursday. The president wrote that he believes the honorees, both Cheney and Thompson, alongside 18 others, have “performed exemplary deeds of service” and are all bonded by “their common decency and commitment to serving others.” (RELATED: DOJ Attorney Who Led Prosecution Of Over 1,500 Jan. 6 Cases To Step Down Before Trump Takes Office)

“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. Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together,” Biden wrote of Cheney receiving the medal.

Earlier in 2024, Cheney joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail as she ran against Trump in a bid for the White House.

The Jan. 6 Congressional Committee was formed in July 2021 and was composed of seven Democrats and two Republicans. After a year and a half of investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, the committee unanimously recommended that the Department of Justice (DOJ) charge President-elect Donald Trump with four counts related to alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Cassidy Hutchinson, former White House aide during the Trump administration, testified before the Jan. 6 committee, claiming Trump had lunged for the steering wheel to reroute the car to the Capitol where protesters were gathering. The driver of Trump’s car that day reportedly denied that such had ever happened. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Call Out Cassidy Hutchinson’s J6 Testimony, Threaten Subpoena If She Does Not Produce Documents)

The committee also recommended that the House Ethics Committee investigate Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy of California, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania for refusing to provide testimony despite receiving subpoenas.

“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’s statement reads.

Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) speaks reporters as he departs the final meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee voted to approve its final report and refer charges to the Justice Department of insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the United States against former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Special counsel Jack Smith eventually brought charges against Trump over his efforts to contest the 2020 election and his handling of classified material. After Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Smith moved to dismiss the case. (RELATED: Biden Regrets Hiring Merrick Garland Because He Didn’t Prosecute Trump Enough: REPORT)

Trump has previously said that Cheney and Thompson should go to jail for their work on the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot.

“But Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps. So the unselect committee went through a year and a half of testimony. Wait. They deleted and destroyed all evidence of- that they found,” Trump said during a “Meet The Press” interview. “Honestly, they should go to jail.”