Dick Cheney, who served two terms as vice president under former President George W. Bush, died at his home on Monday night, his family said. He was 84.
Cheney died due to complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease. The former vice president struggled with heart disease for decades and underwent a heart transplant in 2012. He died surrounded by his family.
Cheney had a decisive role in the White House, influencing foreign policy in the Bush administration at a level typically not seen among vice presidents. He also served as Secretary of Defense under former President George H.W. Bush.
“For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States,” the Cheney family said. “Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lynne, and his daughters, Liz and Mary.
Cheney’s career in politics spanned decades. He served in the Nixon administration and eventually made his way up to White House Chief of Staff under former President Gerald Ford. In 1978, he was elected to Congress, serving Wyoming’s lone district until 1989, when he was nominated by George H.W. Bush to become Secretary of Defense. As Defense Secretary, Cheney directed the U.S. invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces.
In 2000, Cheney joined George W. Bush on the Republican ticket in a controversial presidential election that reached the Supreme Court, before Bush and Cheney were ultimately declared the winners over Democrat Al Gore and his running mate, Joe Lieberman.
As vice president, Cheney played an instrumental role in pushing for the United States to declare a “war on terror” and invade Iraq following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. As American public perception turned against the Iraq War, Cheney held that it was the correct decision to send troops into Iraq in 2003 and topple the government of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
“It was the right thing to do then. I believed in it then, and I believe it now,” Cheney said during a CNN interview in 2015. “No apologies.”
Cheney was not shy about his criticism of the administrations that followed his time in the White House, blasting former President Barack Obama and later becoming a staunch anti-Trump voice. In 2015, Cheney described Obama as “a president whose policies are doing lasting damage to the United States of America.”
In recent years, Cheney feuded with President Donald Trump as his daughter, former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, became the face of anti-Trump Republicans. In 2022, Cheney appeared in an ad for his daughter, who was running in a primary against Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman.
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in the ad. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters.”
Cheney’s anti-Trump positions continued into the 2024 election, when he announced last September that he would vote for then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said.
Cheney, who suffered five heart attacks throughout his life — with his first heart attack at age 37 — expressed a profound gratitude that he was able to live as long as he did. Following his heart transplant in 2012, Cheney called the surgery “the kind of gift that’s unbelievable,” adding, “You wake up every morning with a smile on your face because you’ve got a new day you never expected to have.”
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