Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., has been named vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chair of the committee, announced Thursday he had chosen Cheney for the position, Politico reported.
The news came a day after it was reported that House Freedom Caucus Leader Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., was sending a letter to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., calling for the removal of both Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., from the Republican Conference for their roles on the partisan committee.
Cheney, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in January, was ousted from her position as the No. 3 ranking House GOP member in May.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., named Cheney and Kinzinger to sit on the partisan committee – comprised of Democrats and anti-Trumpers.
McCarthy urged a boycott of the committee after Pelosi rejected two of his GOP picks — Reps. Jim Jordan, R- Ohio, and Jim Banks, R-Ind. — for the panel.
Cheney gave an opening statement following Thompson at the panel’s first hearing in late July, and Politico said she "already had an outsize say in staffing the committee, along with the other Republican member," Kinzinger.
Cheney released a statement after being named vice chair of Pelosi’s committee.
"Every member of this committee is dedicated to conducting a non-partisan, professional, and thorough investigation of all the relevant facts regarding January 6th and the threat to our Constitution we faced that day," she said. "I have accepted the position of Vice-Chair of the committee to assure that we achieve that goal."
Thompson said Cheney "has demonstrated again and again her commitment to getting answers about January 6th, ensuring accountability, and doing whatever it takes to protect democracy for the American people.” He also insisted "her leadership and insights have shaped the early work of the Select Committee, and this appointment underscores the bipartisan nature of this effort."
A report earlier this week said the committee was set to request that telecommunications companies preserve phone records of Trump and other people connected to the day's rally in protest of the 2020 election results.
The phone records of Republican lawmakers and members of the Trump family are among those requested, CNN reported.
McCarthy on Tuesday warned tech companies that Republicans "will not forget" if they turn over phone and email records to the committee.
In his letter to McCarthy, Biggs wrote that Cheney and Kinzinger were "spies for the Democrats" and said they could not be trusted "to sit in on our Republican Conference meetings while we plan our defense against the Democrats."
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