The Jan. 6 Committee issued a subpoena for testimony from former President Donald Trump at its business meeting Thursday.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., offered the motion after members made a presentation on Trump's role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. The committee's vote was unanimous.
"We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th's key player," Cheney said.
"We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion," she added. "Every American is entitled to those answers so we can act now to protect our republic."
The committee was initially expected to hold a hearing on Thursday, during which it would not be able to take an action like a vote on a subpoena. But a last minute change to a "business meeting" allowed the committee to issue a subpoena aimed at compelling Trump's testimony.
The committee gaveled out of its meeting after the subpoena vote.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cheney showed many of the key players in Trump's effort to overturn the election pleading the Fifth before the vote to compel Trump's testimony, including Jeffrey Clark and Roger Stone.
Trump could fight the subpoena, which likely would tip off a legal fight with just over two months less in the current Congress -- a very short timeframe for such a major legal dispute. If Republicans take over the House in the midterms it's not expected they will continue the work of the Jan. 6 Committee.
There was an effort by Congress in the 1840s to subpoena former Presidents John Tyler and John Quincy Adams over clandestine intelligence issues. They never provided information.
There was also an effort by the Committee on Un-American activities to subpoena former President Harry Truman after he was out of office. He ultimately did not comply.
According to Fox News' Chad Pergram, if Trump does not appear or comply, the entire House could vote to hold him in contempt of Congress. Or, the House could even vote to hold him in inherent contempt.
Inherent contempt is where Congress doesn't go to DOJ, but instead executes its own authority to hold Trump accountable. "Regular contempt" would involve a criminal referral to the DOJ for prosecution.