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President Biden will honor Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson, and 18 other distinguished Americans with the Presidential Citizens Medal during a White House ceremony on Thursday. The prestigious award, which ranks as the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, recognizes their exceptional service to the country.

The recognition of Cheney and Thompson comes amid continued controversy over their leadership of the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Their selection has drawn sharp criticism from former President Donald Trump, who recently stated during an NBC “Meet the Press” interview, “Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” alleging without evidence that they “deleted and destroyed” testimony.

Cheney, a former Republican representative from Wyoming, has further strained relations with Trump by expressing support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. Trump, who has promised to pardon the Capitol rioters after taking office in January, declared that the committee leaders “should go to jail.”

The White House emphasized that all recipients exemplify exceptional decency and dedication to public service. Among the honorees are marriage equality champions Mary Bonauto and Evan Wolfson, military medical innovator Frank Butler, and Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation founder Diane Carlson Evans.

The distinguished group also includes women’s rights activist Eleanor Smeal, photographer Bobby Sager, academics Thomas Vallely and Paula Wallace, and National Breast Cancer Coalition president Frances Visco.

Several former lawmakers will receive the medal, including Democratic Senators Bill Bradley and Chris Dodd, Republican Senator Nancy Kassebaum, and Representatives Carolyn McCarthy and Ted Kaufman.

Four individuals will be honored posthumously: war correspondent Joseph Galloway, civil rights attorney Louis Lorenzo Redding, Delaware judge Collins Seitz, and Japanese American internment camp survivor Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi.

This recognition follows Biden’s previous ceremonies honoring those who defended the Capitol during the insurrection and protected the integrity of the 2020 election results. The Presidential Citizens Medal, established by President Richard Nixon in 1969, celebrates Americans who demonstrate exemplary service to their nation and fellow citizens.