WASHINGTON – On Thursday, Washington National Cathedral will serve as the setting for a bipartisan tribute to Dick Cheney, the influential yet divisive former vice president. Known for his sharp criticism of Donald Trump, Cheney’s legacy will be honored by political figures from both sides of the aisle.
Notably absent from the 11 a.m. memorial service is former President Donald Trump, who has remained silent since Cheney’s passing on November 3rd and was not extended an invitation to the event.
The ceremony will be attended by two former presidents. Republican George W. Bush, who served alongside Cheney during his presidency, is set to deliver a eulogy. Also present will be Democrat Joe Biden, who once labeled Cheney as “the most dangerous vice president in American history,” yet now recognizes Cheney’s dedication to his family and principles.
Liz Cheney, his daughter and former high-ranking House member whose political career was affected by the Trump-led MAGA movement, will join Bush in addressing attendees at the cathedral, a place often referred to as “a spiritual home for the nation.”
Additional tributes will be offered by Cheney’s longtime cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner; Pete Williams, a former NBC News correspondent who served as Cheney’s spokesman at the Pentagon; and Cheney’s grandchildren. The service is expected to draw hundreds of guests.
Cheney had battled heart disease for many years and underwent a heart transplant following his vice presidency. He passed away at the age of 84 due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to his family.
The White House lowered its flags to half-staff after Cheney’s death, as it said the law calls for, but Trump did not issue the presidential proclamation that often accompanies the death of notable figures, nor has he commented publicly on his passing.
The deeply conservative Cheney’s influence in the Bush administration was legendary and, to his critics, tragic.
He advocated for the U.S. invasion of Iraq on the basis of what proved to be faulty intelligence and consistently defended the extraordinary tools of surveillance, detention and inquisition employed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Bush credited him with helping to keep the country safe and stable in a perilous time.
After the 2020 election won by Biden, Liz Cheney served as vice chair of the Democratic-led special House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. She accused Trump of summoning the violent mob and plunging the nation into “a moment of maximum danger.”
For that, she was stripped of her Republican leadership position and ultimately defeated in a 2022 Republican primary in Wyoming. In a campaign TV ad made for his daughter, Dick Cheney branded Trump a “coward” who “tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him.”
Last year, it did not sit well with Trump when Cheney said he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Trump told Arab and Muslim voters that Cheney’s support for Harris should give them pause, because he “killed more Arabs than any human being on Earth. He pushed Bush, and they went into the Middle East.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
