Democrats Promote Liz Cheney to No. 2 Post on Jan. 6 Panel

WASHINGTON — House Democrats starring the probe into the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob named Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming connected Thursday arsenic the committee’s vice chairwoman, elevating the relation of a Republican who has been a vocal professional of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump’s lies astir the 2020 election.

The announcement efficaciously makes Ms. Cheney the peculiar committee’s second-ranking member, an antithetic determination for the bulk enactment successful the House, which typically grants that presumption to 1 of its own. But her assignment to the sheet has been portion of a interruption with normal from the start, fixed that Democrats nominated her and different Republican, Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, successful a bid to bring bipartisan credibility to an probe that astir different G.O.P. lawmakers had denounced and worked to thwart.

“Representative Cheney has demonstrated again and again her committedness to getting answers astir Jan. 6, ensuring accountability, and doing immoderate it takes to support ideology for the American people,” Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the committee chairman, said successful a connection announcing the move. “Her enactment and insights person shaped the aboriginal enactment of the prime committee and this assignment underscores the bipartisan quality of this effort.”

It comes arsenic the peculiar committee is ramping up its probe into the unit that engulfed the Capitol arsenic supporters of Mr. Trump stormed the gathering successful his name, brutalizing constabulary officers and delaying for hours the authoritative counting of electoral votes to formalize President Biden’s victory.

The committee sent grounds preservation demands this week to 35 exertion firms naming hundreds of radical whose records they mightiness privation to review, including 11 of Mr. Trump’s astir ardent allies successful Congress, according to respective radical acquainted with the documents who were not authorized to talk astir its contents.

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, has threatened to retaliate against immoderate institution that complies with the request.

Mr. McCarthy led the complaint to portion Ms. Cheney of her Republican enactment station over her continued denunciation of Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This week, Representative Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona and person of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, circulated a missive calling connected Mr. McCarthy to expel some Ms. Cheney, a staunch blimpish whose begetter served arsenic vice president, and Mr. Kinzinger from the Republican conference.

“Congresswoman Cheney and Congressman Kinzinger are 2 spies for the Democrats that we presently invitation to the meetings, contempt our inability to spot them,” Mr. Biggs wrote successful the letter, a transcript of which was obtained by The New York Times.

Mr. Biggs, who promoted mendacious claims of wide predetermination rigging successful the run-up to the Jan. 6 attack, is among the Republicans whose societal media and telephone records the prime committee is seeking to preserve. In his letter, helium projected changing rules for the Republican caucus to expel immoderate subordinate who accepts a committee duty from Democrats, a measurement that Mr. McCarthy has suggested successful the past would beryllium appropriate.

“We cannot spot these members to beryllium successful our Republican league meetings portion we program our defence against the Democrats,” Mr. Biggs wrote.

Ms. Cheney said successful a connection that she was pleased to judge the station arsenic the committee’s No. 2.

“Every subordinate of this committee is dedicated to conducting a nonpartisan, professional, and thorough probe of each the applicable facts regarding Jan. 6 and the menace to our Constitution we faced that day,” Ms. Cheney said. “I person accepted the presumption of vice seat of the committee to guarantee that we execute that goal. We beryllium it to the American radical to analyse everything that led up to, and transpired on, Jan. 6th. We volition not beryllium deterred by threats oregon attempted obstruction and we volition not remainder until our task is complete.”