Americans deserve to hear from him, Rep. Liz Cheney said.
The House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday, after a months-long hiatus, held its ninth public hearing since June, and possibly its last in its investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack.
The panel focused on the role of former President Donald Trump, alleging he was front and center of a plot to overturn the 2020 election and in a historic development, voted unanimously to subpoena Trump to testify.
Former President Donald Trump responded to the committee's action for the first time on Thursday afternoon in a post to Truth Social, his conservative social media platform.
"Why didn't the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?" he wrote, calling the committee a "total BUST."
"Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting?" he asked again.
House Jan. 6 committee chair BennieThompson told reporters right after the hearing that the panel would not issue a subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence.
The committee had been debating how to manifest a meeting with the former vice president, but Thompson's comments indicate members will not force him to make an appearance.
When asked if he thinks Trump will honor the subpoena for his testimony, Thompson responded "ask Donald Trump." Thompson did not answer when asked if the committee would vote to hold Trump in contempt of Congress if he chooses not to comply.
-- ABC News' Katherine Faulders
To close out their 10th hearing overall -- the ninth since June -- the House Jan. 6 committee unanimously voted to subpoena Trump.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., offered the historic resolution and requested a voice vote. Each of the nine members, including seven Democrats and two Republicans, voted yes.
"It is our obligation to seek Donald Trump's testimony," chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said about the subpoena.
Cheney said a subpoena for Trump is necessary since several witnesses pleaded their Fifth Amendment right when pressed about their conversations with the former president surrounding the 2020 election and the insurrection.
"Mr. Chairman, our committee now has sufficient information to answer many of the critical questions posed by Congress at the outset. We have sufficient information to consider criminal referrals for multiple individuals and to recommend a range of legislative proposals to guard against another January 6. But a key task remains. We must seek the testimony, under oath, of January 6's central plater," she said.
"More than 30 witnesses in our investigation have invoked their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, and several of those did so specifically in response to questions about their dealings with Donald Trump directly."
Cheney conceded that the Justice Department could reveal more information but indicated that time is of the essence.
"Mr. Chairman, at some point, the Department of Justice may well unearth the fact that these and other witnesses are concealing. But our duty today is to our country and our children and our Constitution. We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion, and every American is entitled to those answers so we can act now to protect our republic," she said.
