Dick Cheney dies at 84; his power, influence seen as ‘unmatched’ in history of vice presidency

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Dick Cheney, seen as one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents in U.S. history who played a large role in the post-9/11 war on terror, died Nov. 3 at 84, his family said in a statement the following day.

Cheney, who was the 46th vice president of the U.S., died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, the Nov. 4 statement said.

Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, who critically observes the modern American presidency, told OSV News that “during George W. Bush’s first term as president, Dick Cheney had influence and power unmatched in the history of the vice presidency.”

Cheney’s long career in Washington included roles as President Gerald Ford’s White House chief of staff, a member of Congress from Wyoming and secretary of defense.

“From his experience in both the executive branch and Congress, he knew how Washington worked, and he also sought to remedy what he considered a weakening of the presidency in the post-Watergate years,” Schmuhl said. “Throughout eight years as vice president, he did whatever he could to strengthen executive authority.”

However, after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “he saw the dangers of an overly powerful president and became involved with Republicans who sought a return to the norms, traditions and laws recognized by most White House occupants in the past,” Schmuhl said.

“Historians will write that his was a consequential life that raised questions about the proper role of a vice president in the American system of government,” he said.

During the 2024 election cycle, Cheney broke with his party to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, arguing Trump was unfit for the Oval Office and the prospect of his return to the White House was a grave threat to American democracy.

“We have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution,” Cheney said in an endorsement video at the time.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, his daughter, was one of just two Republicans in Congress who joined a select committee to investigate the events surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol — the day 2,000 supporters of President Trump during his first term attempted to block Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. She was defeated in a 2022 primary election by a Trump ally.

Christopher Devine, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton, Ohio, a Catholic research university, and a leading expert on vice presidential candidates, concurred with the characterization of Cheney as “perhaps the most powerful vice president in American history.”

“He was not — as critics unfairly characterize the George W. Bush administration — ‘Bush’s Brain,'” he said in reference to a talking point at the time. “But he did exercise enormous influence over the administration’s response to Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq, advocating for a more aggressive, or ‘hawkish,’ approach in both cases and for an expansive view of executive power.”

“However, Cheney’s influence waned considerably in his second term as vice president,” added Devine, co-author of “Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections.”

Cheney was a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, seen as a key player in convincing Bush to carry out a preemptive attack to remove Saddam Hussein from power in the years following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Although the American public came to view that war as a disaster, Cheney consistently defended the decision.

Devine said Cheney’s foreign policy expertise “was a key factor in George W. Bush’s selection of him as a vice presidential running mate in 2000.”

“Bush recognized that voters were concerned about his limited experience, especially in terms of foreign policy, and that picking Cheney would signal to voters that he would surround himself with capable advisers,” Devine said. “While Cheney was not particularly popular among voters, he did help to reassure them about Bush’s decision-making and leadership skills.”

In a statement, Bush, who chose Cheney as his running mate in the 2000 election, said his death is “a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends.”

“Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was. History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held,” he said.

“As a young White House aide and chief of staff, a Congressman, a Secretary of Defense, and my Vice President, Dick earned the confidence and high opinion of five presidents,” Bush added. “I asked him to join my ticket in 2000 after first enlisting him to help me find the best running mate. In our long discussions about the qualities a vice president should have — deep experience, mature judgment, character, loyalty — I realized that Dick Cheney was the one I needed. I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed.”

Bush called Cheney “a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges,” and offered his condolences to his family.

In January 2004, Pope John Paul II met with Cheney at the Vatican and emphasized the need for international cooperation in resolving conflicts around the world. The meeting marked the pope’s first meeting with Cheney and his highest-level audience with a U.S. official following the Iraqi war, which the pope and his aides strongly opposed. Cheney was one of the chief planners of the war.

“I encourage you and your fellow citizens to work, at home and abroad, for the growth of international cooperation and solidarity in the service of that peace which is the deepest aspiration of all men and women,” the pope said at the time.

In 2005, Cheney spoke to an audience at The Catholic University of America in Washington about the Bush administration’s plan to change Social Security it argued could yield greater retirement benefits for those who invest in the stock market. But that particular proposal later stalled in Congress and was never enacted.

A survivor of five heart attacks, Cheney sometimes spoke of himself as living on borrowed time. In 2013 comments, he said he awoke each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day,” in what may have been an allusion to one of his common facial expressions, which fans saw as a half-smile and critics a smirk.

Cheney, raised a Methodist, is survived by his wife, Lynne, daughters Mary and Liz, and several grandchildren.

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,” the family’s statement said.

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