Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States, served two terms alongside Republican President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, emerging as one of the most influential and polarizing figures in modern American politics. A master of Washington power and a staunch conservative, Cheney became a defining force behind the administration’s foreign and security policies. Yet in his later years, he found himself estranged from his own party over his fierce opposition to President Donald Trump, whom he denounced as a “coward” and the greatest threat ever to the American republic. In a remarkable turn at the end of a storied career, Cheney cast his final presidential vote in 2024 for Democrat Kamala Harris — a fellow former vice president — underscoring how far the populist GOP had drifted from his brand of traditional conservatism.
Cheney’s long career was marked by both accomplishment and controversy. A former Wyoming congressman, White House chief of staff, and defense secretary, he was working in the private sector when George W. Bush tapped him to help select a running mate in 2000 — a process that ended with Cheney himself accepting the role. Known for his discipline, strategic mind, and unflinching worldview, he quickly became one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history, shaping policy from the shadows while Bush remained the public face of the administration.
His influence, however, often sparked internal conflict. Cheney’s hawkish vision and advocacy for pre-emptive war and an assertive projection of American power abroad repeatedly clashed with the more measured approach of Secretary of State Colin Powell. The two men, once allies during the first Gulf War, grew increasingly at odds during the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Powell pressed for diplomacy and coalition-building, while Cheney argued for swift military action based on flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction. Their feud — waged behind closed doors and occasionally through public remarks — came to symbolize the broader ideological divide within the Bush administration. Ironically, years later, both men would find themselves alienated from the modern Republican Party and ultimately cast their votes for Democrats, with Powell endorsing Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and Cheney backing Kamala Harris in 2024.
Cheney’s defining moment came on the morning of September 11, 2001, when, with President Bush out of Washington, he took command from the White House as hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center. The attacks hardened his worldview. Convinced the United States faced a ruthless and global enemy, Cheney became the principal architect of the “war on terror,” embracing controversial tactics such as pre-emptive strikes, warrantless surveillance, and enhanced interrogation. “At that moment, you knew this was a deliberate act. This was a terrorist act,” he told CNN’s John King in 2002, describing the instant he resolved to confront America’s enemies without hesitation.
Despite a lifetime plagued by heart disease — surviving multiple heart attacks before receiving a transplant in 2012 that he later called “the gift of life itself” — Cheney remained active in public life well into his eighties. Even in retirement, he continued to defend his record unapologetically, convinced that history would one day vindicate his choices, however divisive they remained.
Dick Cheney died today at the age of 84 with his beloved wife of 64 years, Lynne Chenney and his daughters, Liz and Mary beside him.
