WASHINGTON — In a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden bestowed former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), 90, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

It was a Wednesday in late June, and Liz Cheney was in California.

The morning before, the Wyoming Republican member of Congress was in Washington, D.C. There, in her role as vice chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, she presided over a surprise blockbuster hearing.

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney is facing a crowded field of rivals eyeing her seat as she still wrestles with Trump’s political shadow, having recently defended her role in his impeachment and the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.