President George W. Bush, right, and the late Vice President Dick Cheney in the Oval Office on Jan. 24, 2002. (Photo from National Archives)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, an architect and chief practitioner of neoconservative foreign policy who was an influential figure among a generation of Republicans, died Monday.

Cheney died at 84 of complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a statement from his family published by several news outlets.

Cheney’s decades in Washington included stints as White House chief of staff to President Gerald Ford; as Wyoming’s U.S. House member from 1979 to 1989; and as secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush. 

Cheney then served as vice president under Bush’s son George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

Cheney was best known for pursuing an aggressive foreign policy to protect American interests, including as a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

That war, in which nearly 5,000 U.S. servicemembers and untold Iraqis died over eight years, without showing that the ruling Saddam Hussein regime possessed weapons of mass destruction or had any ties to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, turned public opinion against neoconservatives.

Cheney kept a relatively low profile after leaving office, other than to endorse his daughter Liz Cheney for the U.S. House seat he once held. He underwent a heart transplant in 2012 after a fifth heart attack.

Cheney rift with Trump

President Donald Trump, in his first campaign for the White House, criticized the Iraq War and the George W. Bush administration, creating a rift within the GOP in which Trump ultimately prevailed.

Trump’s feud with the Cheneys later intensified while Liz Cheney held the U.S. House seat from Wyoming. 

After voting for Trump twice, Liz Cheney consistently strongly criticized Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and later served as vice chair of the House committee investigating that matter.

The younger Cheney’s involvement with that probe resulted in her ouster from House Republican leadership and, eventually, her House seat itself.

In 2022, Dick Cheney, who had mostly retired from public life, appeared in an ad for his daughter’s reelection campaign. 

Wearing a large cowboy hat and speaking directly to camera, he called Trump a coward who “tried to steal the last election, using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters have rejected him.”

“He lost his election, and he lost big,” Cheney said. “I know it. He knows it. Deep down, I think most Republicans know it.”

In the 2024 election, both Liz and Dick Cheney endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris against Trump.

Trump did not release an official statement on Cheney’s death Tuesday. 

At a White House press briefing Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was “aware” of Cheney’s passing and White House flags had been lowered to half-staff, in accordance with law. 

She did not answer questions about Trump’s involvement in funeral arrangements or if he’d spoken to Cheney family members.

Praise for Cheney’s patriotism

Most other high-ranking officials across party lines in the nation’s capital sent well-wishes to the Cheney family and recognized the former vice president as an influential figure.

“Dick was a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges,” George W. Bush wrote in a statement. “I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He held to his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people. For those two terms in office, and throughout his remarkable career, Dick Cheney’s service always reflected credit on the country he loved.”

President Joe Biden praised Cheney’s devotion to public service and his family.

“Guided by a strong set of conservative values, Dick Cheney devoted his life to public service,” he wrote on X. “While we didn’t agree on much, he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also praised Cheney’s willingness to oppose Trump.

“Dick Cheney was a patriotic American who loved his country,” she wrote. “While we strongly disagreed on most policy issues, his patriotism was clear when he returned to the House Floor to commemorate the first anniversary of January 6th. We all saw then how proud Vice President Cheney was to see his daughter, Liz, follow in her father’s footsteps to serve in the House with courage and integrity.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune commended Cheney in a Tuesday floor speech, saying he “played a key role in shaping policy in many of the most consequential issues of his day.” 

“Dick Cheney was a lifelong public servant who believed very deeply in our country and brought his considerable knowledge and intelligence to its service,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, paid tribute to Cheney’s public service at the start of his daily press conference.

“Scripture is very clear: We give honor where honor is due,” Johnson said. “As you know, Dick Cheney served as vice president, he served as a secretary of Defense. He served as a congressman, of course, in Wyoming, and as the youngest chief of staff to any president in the history of the country. And so the honor is certainly due to him.”

Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican who is the longest-serving member of Wyoming’s congressional delegation, said in a social media post the state “mourns the passing of Vice President Dick Cheney.”

“Dick’s career has few peers in American life,” Barrasso wrote. “His unflinching leadership shaped many of the biggest moments in domestic and U.S. foreign policy for decades. Dick will be remembered as a towering figure who helped guide the course of history in Wyoming, the United States, and around the world.”

Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.