SOUTH BEND — The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol will take its next steps in a unanimous way, Vice Chairperson Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a speech at Notre Dame on Friday, a day after the committee voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump.

Cheney gave her remarks in response to questions from students at an event sponsored by Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. During her speech, Chaney spelled out the work of the committee and the threat to democracy she said she believes election deniers pose.

The Congresswoman did not give a definite answer on whether the committee plans to make any formal criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Instead, she directed the audience to consider U.S. District Judge David Carter's March opinion, which found it "more likely than not that President Trump attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021."

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"I don't want to get ahead of the committee," Cheney said. "I think you will see the committee's work in this regard done in a unanimous way and I think there's no question about the answer."

Some have reported that Thursday's televised meeting could be the committee's last public hearing.

"It's not necessarily the last day," Cheney told a full auditorium at Notre Dame's Washington Hall. "It's very important that the investigation be conducted in a way that is rigorous and disciplined and responsible."

Recapping the work of the committee so far, Cheney described its purpose as an effort to hold accountable not only those who stormed the Capitol, but also those who contributed to the rhetoric that led to the events of January 6.

"If we don't do that, then the indefensible conduct becomes defensible," the congresswoman said. "If elected officials excuse or ignore what happened, then that inexcusable conduct becomes excusable."

She described walking the halls of the Capitol on January 6 and returning to the House floor around 9 p.m. after the building had been secured. Glass was shattered from windows and doors, and plastic hoods from gas masks distributed to members of congress still lied about the chamber, Cheney said.

In the days after the insurrection, the Congresswoman said she looked to her sons and came upon a realization.

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"Even if you disagreed with the outcome of an election, even if you fought that election hard and you understood that your candidate lost, we could count on the people leading us to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power, and I looked to my sons and I thought to myself, 'Are they going to be the generation that no longer can count on that?'" Cheney said. "I was determined then, I'm determined now, and as long as I am in every way possible, I'm going to fight to make sure that's not the case."

Cheney's outspoken support of the January 6 committee comes as other Republican leaders have publicly backed the former president and thwarted attempts to investigate the riot at the Capitol.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy opposed legislation in May 2021 proposing a bipartisan commission to study the insurrection. And, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said at that time that the issue had already been litigated through Trump's second impeachment trial.

In February, the Republican National Committee voted to censure Cheney and fellow January 6 Republican committee member Adam Kinzinger for their roles investigating the attack, and Cheney lost an August primary for her Wyoming House seat to a Trump-backed challenger.

Trump on Wednesday sent a 14-page memo to the committee calling its hearings a "Show Trial" and "Witch Hunt."

Cheney said it's important for those following the proceedings to understand a majority of the committee's witnesses have been Republicans, including some who were very close to the former president. She said she's heard from some Republicans colleagues who are fearful of speaking up against election deniers and admonished those who still perpetuate the notion of a stolen election.

"This isn't about politics," Cheney said. "Donald Trump was the one person who could tell the mob to stop. He was the one person who can get people to go home and watch for hours. I want you to think about what kind of human being does that."

Cheney spoke at length about divisions in the Republican Party and acknowledged the difficult conversations now being had at kitchen tables across the country. She called for a return to "respectful dialogue" and a "commitment to the truth."

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Cheney's term as Wyoming's sole House representative ends in January. Asked about her political future and whether she plans to run for president in 2024, Cheney said she hasn't made a decision but that she considers it an important year.

"It's going to be crucial that we elect people who defend the constitution," Cheney said. "We have a lot of excellent candidates. We have a lot of bad candidates."

She encouraged Republicans in the Midterms not to vote for GOP candidates who deny the results of the 2020 election and to instead either write somebody in or vote for a Democrat.

"Vote for serious people," Cheney said. "There are certainly Democrats who are serious. We also have Republicans who aren't serious. On both sides of the aisle, when you go into vote, think about it in terms of 'Would I hire this person? Would I trust this person to babysit my kids?'"

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.