Dick Cheney says he's 'deeply disappointed' with GOP leadership on Jan. 6 anniversary

Former Vice President Dick Cheney joined his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), in Congress on Thursday as lawmakers marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) led a moment of silence on the House floor, one year after the attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, who sought to disrupt the certification of President Biden's election win. Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney were the only Republicans in attendance on the House floor for the moment of silence, according to CNN.

The former vice president told ABC News the Jan. 6 anniversary is an "important historical event," and "you can't overestimate how important it is." Cheney added, "I'm deeply disappointed we don't have better leadership in the Republican Party to restore the Constitution." He also said the Republican Party's leadership is "not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for ten years," per Politico.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

ABC News' Ben Siegel reports that Democrats "one by one" came over to introduce themselves to Dick Cheney and shake his hand. The New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote that there was "something surreal about watching Pelosi and other Democrats happily greeting Dick Cheney, once their bete noire," suggesting it "says something about how Trump has changed the nature of our politics."

Liz Cheney, told NBC's Today the threat to democracy "continues," and she criticized those Republicans who are "looking the other way," adding, "That's how democracies die, and we simply cannot let that happen." As Dick Cheney left the Capitol, he told reporters he's "very proud of Liz."