Cheney: Jan. 6 committee "most important thing I’ve ever done professionally"

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said her work on the Jan. 6 committee is "the most important thing" she's done in her career, according to a new interview with the New York Times.

The big picture: During the eighth public hearing on Thursday night, the committee will walk through all of former President Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

• As vice chair of the committee, Cheney is set to play a key role, especially after Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Thompson will deliver his opening statements for the hearing remotely.
• The goal of the committee and subsequent hearings, Cheney said, was to convince people "how dangerous [Trump] is and how unfit for office he is."

What she's saying: "I believe this is the most important thing I’ve ever done professionally and maybe the most important thing I ever do," Cheney told the New York Times.

• "As a country, we’re at a moment where we really do have to step back from the abyss, and it’s not totally clear to me that we’re going to," Cheney said. "The forces that want to drag us over the edge are strong and fighting. But we have to."

More details: Cheney said she sees parallels between former Vice President Mike Pence's evacuation from the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the evacuation of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, to an underground bunker on Sept. 11, 2001.

• "Every time I see it, it brings to mind the image of Jimmy Scott, the Secret Service agent who evacuated my dad down the steps," Cheney told the New York Times.
• Cheney also said her father has provided advice on how to approach the Jan. 6 committee hearings.