Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney Dies at 84

Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in American history, passed away on Monday at the age of 84. His family said he died from complications of pneumonia and heart and vascular disease.

The former Republican leader, a former Wyoming congressman and Secretary of Defense, was already a major Washington power player when then-Texas Governor George W. Bush chose him as his running mate in the 2000 presidential election. As vice president from 2001 to 2009, Cheney expanded the powers of the presidency and strengthened the vice president’s office, creating a national security team that often operated as its own center of power.

Cheney clashed with top Bush aides, including Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and defended “enhanced” interrogation techniques of terrorism suspects—such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation—criticized by many as torture.

His daughter, Liz Cheney, became an influential Republican lawmaker but lost her House seat after opposing former President Donald Trump and voting to impeach him following the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Cheney agreed with her stance and said he would vote for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in 2024.

He said, “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”