Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful and polarizing figures in modern American politics, has died at 84.
“Richard B. Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died last night, November 3, 2025. He was 84 years old,” his family said in a statement released Monday.
“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed. The former Vice President died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
Few American political figures have commanded as much influence — or stirred as much outrage — as Dick Cheney. Serving as vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, he became the driving force behind some of the most consequential and controversial decisions of the 21st century.
In the chaotic aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Cheney helped shape the U.S. “war on terror,” pushing for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, expanded intelligence powers, and secretive counterterrorism operations. The 2003 Iraq War, launched over claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction — claims that proved false — would define Cheney’s legacy and leave a deep scar on American foreign policy.
Before rising to national prominence as Bush’s second-in-command, Cheney had already established himself as a major Washington insider. He served as Defense Secretary under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, overseeing the Gulf War and managing the post–Cold War transition. His political career began in 1978, when he won a House seat representing Wyoming. He later climbed the leadership ladder to become House Republican Conference chair and minority whip.
Before his time in Congress, Cheney worked under President Gerald Ford as White House chief of staff — a behind-the-scenes role that foreshadowed his reputation as a master of Washington’s inner workings.
Despite his long record as a conservative heavyweight, Cheney broke sharply with the Republican Party’s Trump-era direction. He publicly denounced Donald Trump’s attacks on democratic institutions and made headlines last year for backing Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential run.
“As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution,” Cheney said then. “That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
His daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), echoed that defiance, becoming one of the GOP’s most vocal Trump critics after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Dick Cheney leaves behind a legacy that is both monumental and divisive — a portrait of raw political will and unyielding conviction. Revered by allies as a steadfast patriot and reviled by critics as the architect of disastrous wars, Cheney’s influence on American power and politics will be debated for generations.
