President Joe Biden awarded Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the chair and vice chair of the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee, with the Presidential Citizens Medal in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday.
The medal is the second-highest civilian award in the United States, behind only the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“You are elected officials who served in difficult times with honor, decency, and ensure our democracy delivers,” Biden said while listing descriptions of the group of recipients.
Thompson’s and Cheney’s inclusion on the list of honorees comes amid threats from President-elect Donald Trump to punish former members of the House Jan. 6 committee, which conducted an 18-month investigation examining his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
“I think it’s pretty damn simple. Our democracy begins and ends with the duties of citizenship,” Biden said at the awards ceremony. “That’s our work for the ages. That’s what all of you — and I mean this — all of you embody.”
President Joe Biden presents former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., with the Presidential Citizens Medal at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.
One by one, an announcer read the names of each recipient, who was presented with the medal by Biden. When the announcer called Cheney’s name and announced she was being honored “for putting the American people over party,” the audience burst into loud, sustained applause culminating in a standing ovation.
Minutes later, Thompson also received a standing ovation when he was presented with an award for “his lifelong dedication to safeguarding our Constitution,” according to the description read by the announcer.
Thompson said in a statement that he was “honored” to receive the medal, adding that he has “had an unwavering commitment to upholding the Constitution and defending democracy.”
A representative for Cheney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The recipients did not deliver remarks.
In a December interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump said former members of the committee, which included just two Republicans — Cheney and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. — “should go to jail.”
In the same interview, Trump also detailed his plans to pardon the rioters who have been convicted for their roles in the attack at the Capitol that day.
Thompson has fired back at the notion that Trump could jail members of the committee, telling reporters on Capitol Hill in December that the committee did nothing “that violates the law.”
In a lengthy statement after Trump’s “Meet the Press” interview, Cheney also blasted the president-elect’s comments, saying, “Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later 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., called for the former congresswoman’s role in the Jan. 6 committee to be investigated, alleging that she engaged in witness tampering.
Thompson has also suggested that he would accept a pre-emptive pardon from the president before he leaves office, if Biden were to offer one.
“It’s [Biden’s] prerogative. If he offers it to me or other members of the committee … I would accept it, but it’s his choice,” Thompson told CNN last month.
Two sources familiar had told NBC News that Biden and his senior aides had discussed issuing pre-emptive pardons for those who could become targets of Trump in his next administration.
Thompson and Cheney were among more than a dozen Americans whom Biden honored Thursday. Other recipients 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 were also honored.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
