Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Cheney a “patriotic American” even though she “strongly” disagrees with him “on most policy issues.”
Politicians and former presidents react to Dick Cheney’s death
Former President George W. Bush, who served two terms with Dick Cheney, issued a statement on social media.
WASHINGTON – Then-Rep. Adam Schiff didn’t know who was standing next to the congressman at the time. Liz Cheney and Liz Cheney chat in the House chamber after a moment of silence on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Lawmakers were still wearing masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schiff, a California Democrat who investigated the Capitol riot with Wyoming Republican Cheney, said he eventually introduced him to an “older gentleman” who was standing nearby: his father, Dick Cheney.
“I turned around and said, ‘Sorry, Vice President, I didn’t realize you were wearing a mask!'” Schiff, a former congressman and current senator, told USA TODAY. “I thought he was a congressman too. I’m sure he shook his hand and told him I appreciated him being there.”
This scene may have caused anyone who lived through President George W. Bush’s administration to do a double take or two. Democrats approached their longtime opponents, the Republicans, to express their gratitude and congratulations.
“It brought out a human side of Dick that was sometimes well hidden,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), then the House majority leader, told USA TODAY.
Pelosi: Cheney is a “patriotic American”
Cheney was more than just a former congressman. And he wasn’t always well-received by Democrats.
Decades before his death on Nov. 3 at age 84, Mr. Cheney was a top Republican bogeyman as vice president in the Bush administration, advocating for the Iraq war, championing harsh interrogation of terrorists and expanding domestic surveillance after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But in later years, Democrats praised Cheney for opposing President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 riot.
Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who became Speaker of the House under the Bush administration partly due to the unpopularity of the Iraq War, repeatedly clashed with Cheney during her time as vice president. She described the Iraq war as a “war of choice” and a “grotesque mistake.” But she also appointed Liz Cheney to the commission investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Pelosi held a moment of silence for the rioters and served as Speaker of the House before shaking hands with Dick Cheney.
“Dick Cheney was a patriotic American who loved his country,” Pelosi said in a social media post on Nov. 4. “While we strongly disagreed on most policy issues, his patriotism was evident as he returned to the House floor to commemorate his first anniversary on January 6th.”
Cheney and Democrats clash over Iraq, then unite against Trump
Cheney helped lead the Gulf War as secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush. After September 11, Cheney became the architect of war plans in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He accepted the nickname Darth Vader because he had confidence in a position that others harshly criticized. One conflict occurred in February 2007, when President Cheney told ABC News that Pelosi’s attempts to prevent further troop increases into Iraq would “legitimize al-Qaeda’s strategy.”
“I think that’s a mistake for the country,” Cheney said.
Pelosi responded that critics must challenge the president, saying Cheney’s reference to al-Qaeda “devalues the sacrifice of our troops.”
As is typical of former presidents and vice presidents, Cheney maintained a relatively low profile after leaving office in 2009. After suffering his fifth heart attack and undergoing a heart transplant, he provided commentary on political and foreign affairs and wrote several books on politics and his health. Like many members of her party, Cheney supported Trump as the top Republican candidate in 2016.
But Cheney’s public reputation changed after she criticized Trump for the January 6 riot. He later supported the anti-Trump campaign of Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris (current vice president at the time).
“There is no one more threatening to our country than Donald Trump,” Cheney said at the time.
Liz Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching Trump on January 6, but he was acquitted in the Senate trial. She joined a committee calling on the Justice Department to prosecute Trump on January 6, saying he is “clearly unfit” to be president.
“We all saw how proud Vice President Cheney was as she watched her daughter Liz follow in her father’s footsteps and serve in the House of Representatives with courage and integrity,” Pelosi said in a social media post. “May it be a comfort to Lynn, Liz and Mary that so many people are praying for them at this sad time.”
Raskin found Cheney’s “dramatic” break with Trump “reassuring”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who also served on the Jan. 6 committee and led President Trump’s second impeachment, said Dick Cheney is a symbol of bipartisan opposition to the storming of the Capitol.
“Dick Cheney was always seen as the bulwark and mastermind of conservative Republican politics,” Raskin told USA TODAY. “It was dramatic and heartening to see him break so sharply from Donald Trump.”
Raskin, who was a constitutional law professor for 27 years, marched against the Iraq war and was a fierce opponent of Dick Cheney’s policies at the time. Raskin said Cheney is a champion of the executive branch and seeks to expand the limits of presidential power while adhering to the rule of law.
“Despite his big differences with Dick Cheney, he was never one to say the Constitution and the rule of law weren’t important,” Raskin said. “He just had a different interpretation of what they meant.”
At one point in the investigation on January 6, Raskin defended committee member Liz Cheney from a verbal attack by Republicans on the House floor. Later, Dick Cheney called to thank him.
“It was a very fatherly thing to do,” Raskin said. “It made me feel even more tender.”
Hoyer: Cheney ‘was never soft’ but showed ‘human side’ on January 6th
Hoyer, who was the No. 2 House Democrat at the time of the Jan. 6 memorial service, said he thanked Cheney for exemplifying the bipartisan view that the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol should never be repeated. Hoyer served with Cheney in the House in the 1980s and knew that the No. 2 Republican was a “very tough” partisan conservative.
“He wasn’t a softie, so his statements of, ‘Yes, I believe in a strong, centralized president, but I don’t believe in insurrection, I don’t believe in treason, I don’t believe in undermining the Constitution,'” Hoyer said.
Hoyer said he has been a strong supporter of Liz Cheney running against the president, even though the Jan. 6 investigation cost her House leadership and her subsequent re-election campaign was defeated by a Republican primary challenger backed by Trump.
“She called on Republicans to show the same courage when the emperor is not clothed, knowing that the emperor could have a very strong and very negative reaction,” Hoyer said. “Sadly, in fact, he did.”
Cheney to be expelled from the Republican Party on January 6th
Dick and Liz Cheney were the only two Republicans to attend a moment of silence on the anniversary of the attacks on January 6, 2022.
Dick Cheney said in a statement at the time: “I am deeply disappointed by the failure of many members of our party to recognize the gravity of the January 6th attack and the ongoing threat to our country.”
“The importance of January 6th as a historic event cannot be overstated,” Cheney added. “I was honored and proud to join my daughter on the House floor to celebrate this anniversary, honor the heroic actions of law enforcement that day, and reaffirm our dedication to the Constitution.”
Mr. Trump has long criticized Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also faced federal and state criminal charges over his role on Jan. 6, but the cases were either dropped or remain on hold while President Trump remains in the White House.
The current president has not made any public comments since Cheney’s death. But after the former Republican vice president, once despised by Democrats, became a bipartisan supporter of Harris, slamming her as “irrelevant” and a “Republican in name only,” she made her views on Cheney clear in a social media post in September 2024.
“He, like Comrade Kamala Harris, is the king of endless, pointless wars wasting lives and trillions of dollars,” President Trump wrote.
