Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he’s “deeply disappointed” in many fellow Republicans

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was on the House floor with his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney, this morning, said in a statement today he is “deeply disappointed at the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the January 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation.”

The former vice president was seen today talking to House members including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Jim McGovern and Colin Allred.

Read the former vice president’s full statement:

Watchch:

A year after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, politicians need to “step up and say the truth” about what happened, Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse said, reflecting on the polarizing environment that persists in politics.

Neguse told CNN that lawmakers of both parties came together during the riot. He said Republican representatives, just like everyone else, were “very worried about their own safety, the safety of their staff, and ultimately, the safety of our republic.”

He said some of his colleagues know better, but continue to “perpetuate these lies and misinformation.”

Neguse praised the Republicans who spoke out against the attacks in the days that followed, notably Rep. Liz Cheney, but added there is still “a long road ahead.”

He said he hopes the Jan. 6 select committee uncovers the truth in their investigation and encouraged members from both parties to participate in the process.

“The environment here, as you know ,couldn’t be more polarizing. To some extent, this existed before Jan. 6, but it has accelerated in ways none of us could imagine,” he said.

Watch more from his interview:

One year ago today, CNN Capitol Hill reporter Daniella Diaz planned to work the overnight shift to assist with covering the election certification process, but in a shocking turn of events, Diaz was inside the Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

“Today is a day of remembrance,” she said. “I’ve pushed a lot of what happened on Jan. 6 out of my mind to help me cope, but photos helped me recall how I felt that day when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol because they believed the Big Lie, that the 2020 election was stolen from him.”

“It wasn’t just lawmakers in the building — there was staff in the building, those who keep the Capitol running. There were custodians and cooks. There were reporters, like me, who came to the Capitol to do their job and inform the public. Folks with families, folks who have people who love them,” she added.

Ahead of today’s anniversary, Diaz wrote a firsthand account of what happened in a Twitter thread. In it, she recalled seeing a crowd of protesters coming closer and closer to the Capitol building before it was breached. Diaz and staffers were then in lockdown in a room on the House side of the Capitol for “several hours.”

“There was nothing to eat and I was starving. Then hours later police came and told us we only had 5 minutes to evacuate the Capitol,” Diaz recounted on Twitter.

Diaz was then evacuated to a separate Capitol building where “we stayed hours in an undisclosed location until we were cleared to return to the Capitol. I was offered leftover pizza by a Capitol staff member — my first real meal of the day — around 4 pm. I’m still incredibly grateful for that, otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten that day.”

Diaz stayed at the Capitol until the election was certified:

You can read her full account here:

The group of lawmakers who were trapped in the House gallery on Jan. 6, who call themselves the gallery group, have partnered with World Central Kitchen to give lunches to workers at the Capitol including Capitol police. 

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips told CNN said 800 Capitol police and Capitol staff were invited to the lunch.

He said they are “unheralded, underappreciated or unrecognized for what they do every day – but particularly on that day – to save us, to save the Capitol, and to give us another day to do what’s right.”

Phillips added that Jan. 6, 2021, was an awful day not just for members of Congress, but also for those who worked at the Capitol.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was on the House floor with his daughter Republican Rep. Liz Cheney ahead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s remarks on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

They were in a group talking to members including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Jim McGovern and Colin Allred.

“We were very honored by his being there. He has a right to be on the floor as a former member of the House. I was happy to welcome him back, and to congratulate him on the courage,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Dick Cheney’s presence in the House chamber today.

She declined to answer a question about her thoughts on no other Republicans being present in chamber today, saying, “You’ll have to ask them.”

Liz Cheney is vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi honored law enforcement officers and congressional staff who battled rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

“That day and the days after, they were the defenders of our democracy and their courage and patriotism remain an inspiration,” Pelosi said.

She also lauded lawmakers for following through on their duty to certify the Electoral College vote in the early hours of the morning after the riot.

“There have been continued assaults on our democracy, undermining the sanctity of the vote and the integrity of our elections, which are the basis of our democracy. Let us be true to vision of our founders, who brilliantly established our democracy and made it a model for the world,” Pelosi said.

She acknowledged fallen officers and held a moment of silence.

A moment of silence was held in the House of Representatives to mark the lives lost in the Capitol insurrection one year ago.

Five people died during the attack as rioters vandalized the building and assaulted police officers. One woman was fatally shot by police and three people died of apparent medical emergencies.

Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick died “due to injuries sustained while on-duty.” He was injured while physically engaging with the rioters and collapsed after returning to his division office. “He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” a Capitol Police statement said.

Read more about what happened that day here.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the “mob mentality” of Jan. 6, 2021, continues today on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack, and it “can become poison” if it’s allowed to fester.

“The warnings of history are clear. When democracies are in danger, it often starts with a mob. That’s what happened a year ago here in this building,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

“The mob can start out as a small number, but if it’s allowed to grow and leaders egg on the mob, encourage it, it can become poison. That is what Donald Trump is doing,” he said.

Schumer said that democracy is “stronger” than a mob, “as long as we speak out, as long as we act.”

Schumer also recounted his personal experience in the Capitol last year. He said he was “within 30 feet of these nasty, racist, bigoted insurrectionists,” adding he was told later that some made an anti-Semitic comment about him.

“And I saw something that I’ve been told later never happened before, the Confederate flag flying in this dear Capitol. That’s just one of many searing, grotesque images of that unimaginable, most un-American day,” he said.

Schumer urged others to “call it what it is” and speak the truth about the Jan. 6 attack.

Schumer called on lawmakers to pass voting rights legislation as localities put voter restrictions into place.

“Just as the big lie inspired the attack of Jan. 6, the big lie continues like a disease across state legislatures throughout the country, where we’re seeing the most restrictive voter suppression efforts since Jim Crow, since Jim Crow, in 21st-century America, turning the clock way back,” he said.

On the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Senate Sergeant at Arms told Capitol Hill employees that the office is not aware of any specific threats to the US Capitol complex or Senate state offices. 

The email also reminds employees of the Senate Employee Assistance Program, which can help with lingering trauma. “Experiencing and witnessing events similar to and from January 6, 2021, can be universally challenging,” the email says.