President Joe Biden will award Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Missouri, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, who served as chair and vice chair of the now-defunct House January 6 Committee, the Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony at the White House on Thursday.
The award is the second-highest civilian honor in the United States, behind only the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The inclusion of Thompson and Cheney on the list of honorees comes as President-elect Donald Trump increasingly threatens to punish former members of the House January 6 Committee, which he has scrutinized and investigated for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol during an 18-month investigation.
In a December interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump said the former members of the committee, which included only two Republicans — Cheney and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. — “should go to jail.”
The comment came as Trump also detailed his plans to pardon rioters convicted for their role in the attack on the Capitol that day.
Thompson pushed back against the idea that Trump might jail committee members, telling reporters on Capitol Hill in December that the committee had done nothing “that violated the law.”
In a lengthy statement after Trump’s interview on “Meet the Press,” Cheney also criticized the president-elect’s comments, saying, “Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who subsequently investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”
House Republicans have also attacked Cheney for her role on the committee. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., has called for the former congresswoman’s role on the Jan. 6 committee to be investigated for allegedly engaging in witness tampering.
Thompson has also suggested that he would accept a preemptive pardon from the president before he leaves office if Biden offered it.
“It’s (Biden’s) privilege,” Thompson told CNN last month. If he offers it to me or other members of the committee … I’ll take it, but that’s his choice.”
President Joe Biden will honor more than a dozen Americans at the ceremony, including marriage equality and civil rights activists.Chris Kleponis/AFP – Getty Images
The comment came days after two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News that Biden and his top aides had discussed issuing preemptive pardons to those who could become targets of Trump in his incoming administration.
Thompson and Cheney are among more than a dozen Americans Biden will honor on Thursday. Other honorees include former Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Bill Bradley of New Jersey, Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas and Ted Kaufman of Delaware.
Several veterans, marriage equality activists, women’s rights activists and civil rights advocates are also set to be honored.
