Cheney ended his vice presidential tenure as a deeply unpopular figure in American politics with an approval rating of 13 percent.[14] His peak approval rating in the wake of the September 11 attacks was 68 percent.[15] Since leaving the vice presidency, Cheney has been critical of modern Republican leadership, includingDonald Trump, going as far as to endorse Trump's challenger in2024, DemocratKamala Harris.[16] He is the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death ofWalter Mondale in 2021, as well as the most recent Vice President not to run for President.
Early life and education
Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine (née Dickey) and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English, as well asWelsh, Irish, and French Huguenot ancestry. His father was a soil conservation agent for theU.S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a softball star in the 1930s;[17] Cheney was one of three children.He attendedCalvert Elementary School[18][19] before his family moved toCasper, Wyoming,[20] where he attendedNatrona County High School.[21][22]
In November 1962, at the age of 21, Cheney was convicted ofdriving while intoxicated (DWI). He was arrested for DWI again the following year.[27] Cheney said that the arrests made him "think about where I was and where I was headed. I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course."[28]
In 1964, he marriedLynne Vincent, his high school sweetheart, whom he had met at age 14.
When Cheney became eligible for thedraft, during theVietnam War, he applied for and received five draft deferments. In 1989,The Washington Post writer George C. Wilson interviewed Cheney as the nextsecretary of defense; when asked about his deferments, Cheney reportedly said, "I had other priorities in the '60s than military service."[29] Cheney testified during his confirmation hearings in 1989 that he received deferments to finish a college career that lasted six years rather than four, owing to sub-par academic performance and the need to work to pay for his education. Upon graduation, Cheney was eligible for the draft, but at the time, theSelective Service System was not inducting married men.[30] On October 26, 1965, the draft was expanded to include married men without children; Cheney's first daughter,Elizabeth, was born 9 months and two days later.[31][30] Cheney's fifth and final deferment granted him "3-A" status, a "hardship" deferment available to men with dependents. In January 1967, Cheney turned 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft.[31]
In 1966 Cheney dropped out of the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin to work as staff aide for GovernorWarren Knowles.[32]
Cheney's political career began in 1969, as an intern for CongressmanWilliam A. Steiger during theRichard Nixon Administration. He then joined the staff ofDonald Rumsfeld, who was then Director of theOffice of Economic Opportunity from 1969 to 1970.[27] He held several positions in the years that followed: White House Staff Assistant in 1971, Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council from 1971 to 1973, and Deputy Assistant to the president from 1974 to 1975. As deputy assistant, Cheney suggested several options in a memo to Rumsfeld, including use of theUS Justice Department, that theFord administration could use to limit damage from an article, published byThe New York Times, in which investigative reporterSeymour Hersh reported that Navy submarines had tapped into Soviet undersea communications as part of a highly classified program,Operation Ivy Bells.[33][34]
In 1978, Cheney was elected to represent Wyoming in theU.S. House of Representatives and succeeded retiringDemocratic CongressmanTeno Roncalio, having defeated his Democratic opponent, Bill Bagley. Cheney was re-elected five times, serving until 1989.[citation needed]
Tenure
Leadership
In 1987, he was elected Chairman of theHouse Republican Conference. The following year, he was electedHouse Minority Whip.[39] He served for two and a half months before he was appointed Secretary of Defense instead of former U.S. SenatorJohn G. Tower, whose nomination had been rejected by the U.S. Senate in March 1989.[40]
Votes
Cheney meets with PresidentRonald Reagan, July 1983.
He voted against the creation of theU.S. Department of Education, citing his concern over budget deficits and expansion of the federal government, and claiming that the department was an encroachment onstates' rights.[41] He voted against fundingHead Start, but reversed his position in 2000.[42]
Cheney supportedBob Michel's (R-IL) bid to become Republican Minority Leader.[44] In April 1980, Cheney endorsed GovernorRonald Reagan for president, becoming one of Reagan's earliest supporters.[45]
In 1986, after PresidentRonald Reagan vetoed a bill to imposeeconomic sanctions on South Africa for its policy ofapartheid, Cheney was one of 83 Representatives to vote against overriding Reagan's veto.[46] In later years, he articulated his opposition to unilateral sanctions against many different countries, stating "they almost never work"[47] and that in that case they might have ended up hurting the people instead.[48]
In 1986, Cheney, along with 145 Republicans and 31 Democrats, voted against a non-binding Congressional resolution calling on the South African government to releaseNelson Mandela from prison, after the Democrats defeated proposed amendments that would have required Mandela to renounce violence sponsored by theAfrican National Congress (ANC) and requiring it to oust the communist faction from its leadership; the resolution was defeated. Appearing onCNN, Cheney addressed criticism for this, saying he opposed the resolution because the ANC "at the time was viewed as a terrorist organization and had a number of interests that were fundamentally inimical to the United States."[49]
Committee assignments
Originally declining, U.S. CongressmanBarber Conable persuaded Cheney to join the moderate Republican Wednesday Group in order to move up the leadership ranks. He was electedChairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. Cheney was the Ranking Member of the Select Committee to investigate theIran-Contra Affair.[27][50][51] He promoted Wyoming's petroleum and coal businesses as well.[52]
Cheney has said his time at the Pentagon was the most rewarding period of his public service career, calling it "the one that stands out."[55] In 2014, Cheney recounted that when he met with PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush to accept the offer, he passed a painting in the private residence entitledThe Peacemakers, which depicted President Lincoln, General Grant, andWilliam Tecumseh Sherman. "My great-grandfather had served under William Tecumseh Sherman throughout the war," Cheney said, "and it occurred to me as I was in the room as I walked in to talk to the President about becoming Secretary of Defense, I wondered what he would have thought that his great-grandson would someday be in the White House with the President talking about taking over the reins of the U.S. military."[56]
Secretary Cheney with President George H. W. Bush, 1991
Cheney's most immediate issue as Secretary of Defense was theDepartment of Defense budget. Cheney deemed it appropriate to cut the budget and downsize the military, following theReagan Administration's peacetime defense buildup at the height of theCold War.[57] As part of the fiscal year 1990 budget, Cheney assessed the requests from each of the branches of the armed services for such expensive programs as theAvenger II Naval attack aircraft, theB-2 stealth bomber, theV-22 Osprey tilt-winghelicopter, theAegis destroyer and theMX missile, totaling approximately $4.5 billion in light of changed world politics.[40] Cheney opposed the V-22 program, which Congress had already appropriated funds for, and initially refused to issue contracts for it before relenting.[58]When the 1990 Budget came before Congress in the summer of 1989, it settled on a figure between the Administration's request and theHouse Armed Services Committee's recommendation.[40]
In subsequent years under Cheney, the proposed and adopted budgets followed patterns similar to that of 1990. Early in 1991, he unveiled a plan to reduce military strength by the mid-1990s to 1.6 million, compared with 2.2 million when he entered office. Cheney's 1993 defense budget was reduced from 1992, omitting programs that Congress had directed the Department of Defense to buy weapons that it did not want, and omitting unrequested reserve forces.[40]
Over his four years as Secretary of Defense, Cheney downsized the military and his budgets showed negative real growth, despite pressures to acquire weapon systems advocated by Congress. The Department of Defense's total obligational authority in current dollars declined from $291 billion to $270 billion. Total military personnel strength decreased by 19 percent, from about 2.2 million in 1989 to about 1.8 million in 1993.[40] Notwithstanding the overall reduction in military spending, Cheney directed the development of a Pentagon plan to ensure U.S. military dominance in the post-Cold War era.[59]
Political climate and agenda
Cheney publicly expressed concern that nations such asIraq,Iran, andNorth Korea, could acquire nuclear components after thecollapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The end of the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the disintegration of theWarsaw Pact obliged the first Bush Administration to reevaluate theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) purpose and makeup. Cheney believed that NATO should remain the foundation of European security relationships and that it would remain important to the United States in the long term; he urged the alliance to lend more assistance to the new democracies in Eastern Europe.[40]
Cheney's views on NATO reflected his skepticism about prospects for peaceful social development in the formerEastern Bloc countries, where he saw a high potential for political uncertainty and instability. He felt that the Bush Administration was too optimistic in supportingGeneral Secretary of the CPSUMikhail Gorbachev and his successor, Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin.[40] Cheney not only wanted the break-up of the USSR but also of Russia itself.[60] Cheney worked to maintain strong ties between the United States and its European allies.[61]
Cheney persuaded theKingdom of Saudi Arabia to allow bases for U.S. ground troops and war planes in the nation. This was an important element of the success of theGulf War, as well as a lightning-rod forIslamists, such asOsama bin Laden, who opposed having non-Muslim armies near their holy sites.[62]
International situations
Usingeconomic sanctions and political pressure, the United States mounted a campaign to drive Panamanian ruler GeneralManuel Antonio Noriega from power after he fell from favor.[40] In May 1989, afterGuillermo Endara had been duly electedPresident of Panama, Noriega nullified the election outcome, drawing intensified pressure. In October, Noriega suppressed amilitary coup, but in December, after soldiers of thePanamanian army killed a U.S. serviceman, the United States invasion of Panama began under Cheney's direction. The stated reason for the invasion was to seize Noriega to face drug charges in the United States, protect U.S. lives and property, and restore Panamaniancivil liberties.[63] Although the mission was controversial,[64] U.S. forces achieved control ofPanama and Endara assumed the presidency; Noriega was convicted and imprisoned onracketeering and drug trafficking charges in April 1992.[65]
In 1991, theSomali Civil War drew the world's attention. In August 1992, the United States began to providehumanitarian assistance, primarily food, through a military airlift. At President Bush's direction, Cheney dispatched the first of 26,000 U.S. troops toSomalia as part of theUnified Task Force (UNITAF), designed to provide security and food relief.[40] Cheney's successors as Secretary of Defense,Les Aspin andWilliam J. Perry, had to contend with both theBosnian and Somali issues.
Cheney and Schwarzkopf oversaw planning for what would become a full-scale U.S. military operation. According to GeneralColin Powell, Cheney "had become a glutton for information, with an appetite we could barely satisfy. He spent hours in theNational Military Command Center peppering my staff with questions."[40]
Shortly after the Iraqi invasion, Cheney made the first of several visits to Saudi Arabia whereKing Fahd requested U.S. military assistance. The United Nations took action as well, passing a series of resolutions condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait; theUN Security Council authorized "all means necessary" to eject Iraq from Kuwait, and demanded that the country withdraw its forces by January 15, 1991.[66] By then, the United States had a force of about 500,000 stationed in Saudi Arabia and thePersian Gulf. Other nations, including Britain, Canada, France, Italy,Syria, andEgypt, contributed troops, and other allies, most notably Germany and Japan, agreed to provide financial support for the coalition effort, namedOperation Desert Shield.[40]
On January 12, 1991, Congress authorized Bush to use military force to enforce Iraq's compliance with UN resolutions on Kuwait.[66]
Military action
Bush meets withRobert Gates, GeneralColin Powell, Secretary Cheney, and others about the situation in the Persian Gulf and OperationDesert Shield, January 15, 1991.
The first phase ofOperation Desert Storm, which began on January 17, 1991, was an air offensive to secure air superiority and attack Iraqi forces, targeting key Iraqi command and control centers, including the cities ofBaghdad andBasra. Cheney turned most other Department of Defense matters over to Deputy Secretary Atwood and briefed Congress during the air and ground phases of the war.[40] He flew with Powell to the region to review and finalize the ground war plans.[66]
After an air offensive of more than five weeks,Coalition forces launched the ground war on February 24. Within 100 hours, Iraqi forces had been routed from Kuwait and Schwarzkopf reported that the basic objective – expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait – had been met on February 27.[67] After consultation with Cheney and other members of his national security team, Bush declared a suspension of hostilities.[66] On working with this national security team, Cheney has said, "there have been five Republican presidents sinceEisenhower. I worked for four of them and worked closely with a fifth – the Reagan years when I was part of the House leadership. The best national security team I ever saw was that one. The least friction, the most cooperation, the highest degree of trust among the principals, especially."[68]
Aftermath
A total of 147 U.S. military personnel died in combat, and another 236 died as a result of accidents or other causes.[40][67] Iraq agreed to a formal truce on March 3, and a permanent cease-fire on April 6.[40] There was subsequent debate about whether Coalition forces should have driven as far as Baghdad to oust Saddam Hussein from power. Bush agreed that the decision to end the ground war when they did was correct, but the debate persisted as Hussein remained in power and rebuilt his military forces.[40] Arguably the most significant debate concerned whether U.S. and Coalition forces had left Iraq too soon.[69][70] In an April 15, 1994, interview with C-SPAN, Cheney was asked if the U.S.-led Coalition forces should have moved into Baghdad. Cheney replied that occupying and attempting to take over the country would have been a "bad idea" and would have led to a "quagmire", explaining that:
[If] we'd gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq. Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it – eastern Iraq – the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey. It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq. The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families – it wasn't a cheap war. And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth? Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right.[71][72]
Cheney regarded the Gulf War as an example of the kind of regional problem the United States was likely to continue to face in the future:[73]
We're always going to have to be involved [in the Middle East]. Maybe it's part of our national character, you know we like to have these problems nice and neatly wrapped up, put a ribbon around it. You deploy a force, you win the war and the problem goes away. But it doesn't work that way in the Middle East. It never has, and isn't likely to in my lifetime.
Private sector career
Between 1987 and 1989, during his last term in Congress, Cheney was on the board of theCouncil on Foreign Relations foreign policy organization.[74]
With the inauguration of the new Democratic administration under PresidentBill Clinton inJanuary 1993, Cheney joined theAmerican Enterprise Institute. He also served a second term as a Council on Foreign Relations director from 1993 to 1995.[74]
From October 1, 1995[75] to July 25, 2000,[76] he was chairman of the board and chief executive officer ofHalliburton, aFortune 500 company. Cheney resigned as CEO on the same day he was announced as George Bush's vice-presidential pick in the 2000 election.[77]
Cheney's record as CEO was subject to some dispute amongWall Street analysts. A 1998 merger between Halliburton andDresser Industries attracted the criticism of some Dresser executives for Halliburton's lack of accounting transparency.[78] Halliburton shareholders pursued aclass-action lawsuit alleging that the corporation artificially inflated its stock price during this period, though Cheney was not named as an individualdefendant in the suit. In June 2011, theUnited States Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and allowed the case to continue in litigation.[79] Cheney was named in a December 2010 corruption complaint filed by the Nigerian government against Halliburton, which thecompany settled for $250 million.[80]
During Cheney's term, Halliburton changed its accounting practices regarding revenue realization of disputed costs on major construction projects.[81] Cheney resigned as CEO of Halliburton on July 25, 2000. As vice president, he argued that this step, along with establishing a trust and other actions, removed anyconflict of interest.[82] Cheney's net worth, estimated to be between $19 million and $86 million,[83] is largely derived from his post at Halliburton.[84]His 2006 gross joint income with his wife was nearly $8.82 million.[85]
The Bush–Cheney ticket won the 2000 presidential election with 271 electoral votes but with only 47.9% of the popular vote, less than their opposition ticket, Gore–Lieberman, which received 48.3%.
In early 2000, while CEO of Halliburton, Cheney headedGovernor of TexasGeorge W. Bush's vice-presidential search committee. On July 25, after reviewing Cheney's findings, Bush surprised some pundits by asking Cheney himself to join the Republican ticket.[27][86] Halliburton reportedly reached agreement on July 20 to allow Cheney to retire, with a package estimated at $20 million.[87]
A few months before the election Cheney put his home in Dallas up for sale and changed his drivers' license and voter registration back to Wyoming. This change was necessary to allow Texas' presidential electors to vote for both Bush and Cheney without contravening theTwelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbids electors from voting for "an inhabitant of the same state with themselves"[88] for both president and vice president.Cheney campaigned againstAl Gore's running mate,Joseph Lieberman, in the 2000 presidential election. While the election was undecided, the Bush-Cheney team was not eligible for public funding to plan a transition to a new administration, prompting Cheney to open a privately funded transition office in Washington. This office worked to identify candidates for all important positions in the cabinet.[89] According toCraig Unger, Cheney advocatedDonald Rumsfeld for the post of Secretary of Defense to counter the influence ofColin Powell at the State Department, and tried unsuccessfully to havePaul Wolfowitz named to replaceGeorge Tenet as director of theCentral Intelligence Agency.[90]
Following theSeptember 11, 2001, attacks, Cheney remained physically apart from Bush for security reasons. For a period, Cheney stayed at a variety of undisclosed locations, out of public view.[91] Cheney later revealed in his memoirIn My Time that these "undisclosed locations" included his official vice presidential residence, his home in Wyoming, andCamp David.[92] He also utilized a heavy security detail, employing a motorcade of 12 to 18 government vehicles for his daily commute from the vice presidential residence atNumber One Observatory Circle to the White House.[93]
Cheney speaks to US troops atCamp Anaconda, Iraq, in 2008.
Following 9/11, Cheney was instrumental in providing a primary justification for a renewed war against Iraq. Cheney helped shape Bush's approach to the "War on Terror", making numerous public statements alleging Iraq possessedweapons of mass destruction,[96] and making several personal visits to CIA headquarters, where he questioned mid-level agency analysts on their conclusions.[97] Cheney continued toallege links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, even though President Bush received a classified President's Daily Brief on September 21, 2001, indicating the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the September 11 attacks and that "there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda."[98] Furthermore, in 2004, the9/11 Commission concluded that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al-Qaeda.[99] By 2014, Cheney continued to misleadingly claim that Saddam "had a 10-year relationship with al Qaeda."[100]
Following the US invasion of Iraq, Cheney remained steadfast in his support of the war, stating that it would be an "enormous success story",[101] and made many visits to the country. He often criticizedwar critics, calling them "opportunists" who were peddling "cynical and pernicious falsehoods" to gain political advantage while US soldiers died in Iraq. In response, SenatorJohn Kerry asserted, "It is hard to name a government official with less credibility on Iraq [than Cheney]."[102]
In a March 24, 2008, extended interview conducted in Ankara, Turkey, with ABC News correspondentMartha Raddatz on the fifth anniversary of the original U.S. military assault on Iraq, Cheney responded to a question about public opinion polls showing that Americans had lost confidence in the war by simply replying "So?"[103] This remark prompted widespread criticism, including from formerOklahoma Republican CongressmanMickey Edwards, a long-time personal friend of Cheney.[104]
The Bush–Cheney ticket won the 2004 presidential election with 50.7% of the popular vote and 286 electoral votes.
Bush and Cheney were re-elected in the2004 presidential election, running againstJohn Kerry and his running mate,John Edwards. During the election, the pregnancy of his daughterMary and hersexual orientation as a lesbian became a source of public attention for Cheney in light of thesame-sex marriage debate.[105] Cheney has since stated that he is in favor of gay marriages personally, but that each individual U.S. state should decide whether to permit it or not.[106] Cheney's former chief legal counsel,David Addington,[107] became his chief of staff and remained in that office until Cheney's departure from office.John P. Hannah served as Cheney's national security adviser.[108]Until his indictment and resignation[109] in 2005,I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. served in both roles.[110]
On the morning of July 21, 2007, Cheney once again served as acting president, from 7:16 am to 9:21 am. Bush transferred the power of the presidency prior to undergoing a medical procedure, requiring sedation, and later resumed his powers and duties that same day.[111]
After his term began in 2001, Cheney was occasionally asked if he was interested in the Republican nomination for the2008 presidential election. However, he always maintained that he wished to retire upon the expiration of his term and he did not run in the2008 presidential primaries. The Republicans nominated Arizona SenatorJohn McCain.[112]
Disclosure of documents
Cheney was a prominent member of the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG),[113] commonly known as theEnergy Task Force, composed of energy industry representatives, including severalEnron executives. After theEnron scandal, the Bush administration was accused of improper political and business ties. In July 2003, theSupreme Court ruled that theUS Department of Commerce must disclose NEPDG documents, containing references to companies that had made agreements with the previous Iraqi government to extract Iraq's petroleum.[114]
Beginning in 2003, Cheney's staff opted not to file required reports with theNational Archives and Records Administration office charged with assuring that the executive branch protects classified information, nor did it allow inspection of its record keeping.[115]Cheney refused to release the documents, citing his executive privilege to deny congressional information requests.[116][117] Media outlets such asTime magazine andCBS News questioned whether Cheney had created a "fourth branch of government" that was not subject to any laws.[118] A group of historians and open-government advocates filed a lawsuit in theUS District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to declare that Cheney's vice-presidential records are covered by thePresidential Records Act of 1978 and cannot be destroyed, taken or withheld from the public without proper review.[119][120][121][122]
Handwritten note aboveJoe Wilson's editorial by Cheney referring to the covert agent before the leak took place
On October 18, 2005,The Washington Post reported that the vice president's office was central to the investigation of theValerie Plame CIA leak scandal, for Cheney's former chief of staff,Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was one of the figures under investigation.[123] Libby resigned his positions as Cheney's chief of staff and assistant on national security affairs later in the month after he was indicted.
In February 2006,The National Journal reported that Libby had stated before agrand jury that his superiors, including Cheney, had authorized him to disclose classified information to the press regarding intelligence on Iraq's weapons.[124] That September,Richard Armitage, former Deputy Secretary of State, publicly announced that he was the source of the revelation of Plame's status. Armitage said he was not a part of a conspiracy to reveal Plame's identity and did not know whether one existed.[125]
On March 6, 2007, Libby was convicted on fourfelony counts for obstruction of justice,perjury, and making false statements to federal investigators.[126] In his closing arguments, independent prosecutorPatrick Fitzgerald said that there was "a cloud over the vice president",[127] an apparent reference to Cheney's interview with FBI agents investigating the case, which was made public in 2009.[128] Cheney lobbied President George W. Bush vigorously and unsuccessfully to grant Libby a fullpresidential pardon up to the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, likening Libby to a "soldier on the battlefield".[129][130] Libby was subsequently pardoned by PresidentDonald Trump in April 2018.[131]
Vice President Cheney speaks to the press flanked by fellow RepublicansMitch McConnell (left) andTrent Lott (right), April 2007.
On February 27, 2007, at about 10 am, a suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded 20 more outsideBagram Airfield in Afghanistan during a visit by Cheney. TheTaliban claimed responsibility for the attack and declared that Cheney was its intended target. They also claimed thatOsama bin Laden supervised the operation.[132] The bomb went off outside the front gate while Cheney was inside the base and half a mile away. He reported hearing the blast, saying "I heard a loud boom... The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate."[133] The purpose of Cheney's visit to the region had been to press Pakistan for a united front against the Taliban.[134]
Cheney has been characterized as the most powerful and influential Vice President in history.[135][136]Both supporters and critics of Cheney regard him as a shrewd and knowledgeable politician who knows the functions and intricacies of the federal government. A sign of Cheney's active policy-making role was then-House SpeakerDennis Hastert's provision of an office near the House floor for Cheney[137] in addition to his office in theWest Wing,[138] his ceremonial office in the Old Executive Office Building,[139] and his Senate offices (one in theDirksen Senate Office Building and another off the floor of the Senate).[137][140]
In June 2007,The Washington Post summarized Cheney's vice presidency in aPulitzer Prize-winning[143]four-part series, based in part on interviews with former administration officials. The articles characterized Cheney not as a "shadow" president, but as someone who usually has the last words of counsel to the president on policies, which in many cases would reshape the powers of the presidency. When former Vice PresidentDan Quayle suggested to Cheney that the office was largely ceremonial, Cheney reportedly replied, "I have a different understanding with the president." The articles described Cheney as having a secretive approach to the tools of government, indicated by the use of his own security classification and three man-sized safes in his offices.[144]
The articles described Cheney's influence on decisions pertaining to detention of suspected terrorists and the legal limits that apply to their questioning, especially what constitutestorture.[145]U.S. Army ColonelLawrence Wilkerson, who served as Colin Powell's chief of staff when he was bothChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the same time Cheney was Secretary of Defense, and then later when Powell wasSecretary of State, stated in an in-depth interview that Cheney andDonald Rumsfeld established an alternative program to interrogate post-9/11 detainees because of their mutual distrust ofCIA.[146]
The Washington Post articles, principally written byBarton Gellman, further characterized Cheney as having the strongest influence within the administration in shaping budget and tax policy in a manner that assures "conservative orthodoxy."[147] They also highlighted Cheney's behind-the-scenes influence on theBush administration's environmental policy to ease pollution controls for power plants, facilitate the disposal of nuclear waste, open access to federal timber resources, and avoid federal constraints ongreenhouse gas emissions, among other issues. The articles characterized his approach to policy formulation as favoring business over the environment.[148]
In June 2008, Cheney allegedly attempted to block efforts by Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice to strike a controversial US compromise deal withNorth Korea over the communist state's nuclear program.[149]
In July 2008, a formerEnvironmental Protection Agency official stated publicly that Cheney's office had pushed significantly for large-scale deletions from aCenters for Disease Control and Prevention report on thehealth effects of global warming "fearing the presentation by a leading health official might make it harder to avoid regulating greenhouse gases."[150] In October, when the report appeared with six pages cut from the testimony, the White House stated that the changes were made due to concerns regarding the accuracy of the science. However, according to the former senior adviser on climate change to Environmental Protection Agency AdministratorStephen Johnson, Cheney's office was directly responsible for nearly half of the original testimony being deleted.[150]
On February 14, 2010, in an appearance onABC'sThis Week, Cheney reiterated his support ofwaterboarding and for the torture of captured terrorist suspects, saying, "I was and remain a strong proponent of ourenhanced interrogation program."[152]
Post–vice presidency (2009–present)
In 2008 Cheney purchased a home on Chain Bridge Road inMcLean, Virginia, part of theWashington suburbs, which he tore down for a replacement structure.[153] He also maintains homes in Wyoming and on Maryland's Eastern Shore.[154]
In July 2012, Cheney used his Wyoming home to host a private fundraiser for Republican presidential candidateMitt Romney, which netted over $4 million in contributions from attendees for Romney's campaign.[155]
Cheney maintained a visible public profile after leaving office,[160] being especially critical ofObama administration policies on national security.[161][162][163] In May 2009, Cheney spoke of his support forsame-sex marriage, becoming one of the most prominent Republican politicians to do so. Speaking to theNational Press Club, Cheney stated: "People ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish. I do believe, historically, the way marriage has been regulated is at a state level. It's always been a state issue, and I think that's the way it ought to be handled today."[164] In 2012, Cheney reportedly encouraged several Maryland state legislators to vote to legalize same-sex marriage in that state.[165]
Although, by custom, a former vice president unofficially receives six months of protection from theUnited States Secret Service, President Obama reportedly extended the protection period for Cheney.[166]
On July 11, 2009, CIA DirectorLeon Panetta told the Senate and House intelligence committees that the CIA withheld information about a secret counter-terrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from Cheney. Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program did not involve theCIA interrogation program and did not involve domestic intelligence activities. They have said the program was started by the counter-terrorism center at the CIA shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until 2009.[167]The Wall Street Journal reported, citing former intelligence officials familiar with the matter, that the program was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or killal Qaeda operatives.[168]
Cheney attending his daughter Liz's ceremonial congressional swearing-in ceremony in January 2017
Cheney has said that theTea Party Movement is a "positive influence on the Republican Party" and that "I think it's much better to have that kind of turmoil and change in the Republican Party than it would be to have it outside."[169]
In May 2016, Cheney endorsedDonald Trump as the Republican nominee in the2016 presidential election.[170] That November, his daughter Liz wonelection to the House of Representatives (to his former congressional seat). When she was sworn into office in January 2017, Cheney said he believed she would do well in the position and that he would only offer advice if requested.[171]
On December 29, 2009, four days after theattempted bombing of an international passenger flight from the Netherlands to United States, Cheney criticized PresidentBarack Obama: "[We] are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren't, it makes us less safe. ... Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war? It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency – social transformation – the restructuring of American society."[173] In response,White House Communications DirectorDan Pfeiffer wrote on the officialWhite House blog the following day, "[I]t is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers. Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer."[174][175]During a February 14, 2010, appearance onABC'sThis Week, Cheney reiterated his criticism of the Obama administration's policies for handling suspected terrorists, criticizing the "mindset" of treating "terror attacks against the United States as criminal acts as opposed to acts of war".[152]
In a May 2, 2011, interview with ABC News, Cheney praised the Obama administration for the covert military operation in Pakistan that resulted in thedeath of Osama bin Laden.[176]
In 2014, during an interview withSean Hannity, he called Obama a "weak President" after Obama announced his plans to pull forces out of Afghanistan.[177]
In 2015, Cheney published another book,Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America, again co-authored with his daughterLiz. The book traces the history of U.S. foreign policy and military successes and failures fromFranklin Roosevelt's administration through theObama administration. The authors tell the story of what they describe as the unique role the United States has played as a defender of freedom throughout the world sinceWorld War II.[181] Drawing upon the notion ofAmerican exceptionalism, the co-authors criticizeBarack Obama's and formerSecretary of State Hillary Clinton's foreign policies, and offer what they see as the solutions needed to restore American greatness and power on the world stage in defense of freedom.[182][183]
Cheney criticized theTrump administration at theAmerican Enterprise InstituteWorld Forum alongside Vice PresidentMike Pence in March 2019. Questioning his successor on Trump's commitment toNATO and tendency to announce policy decisions on Twitter before consulting senior staff members, Cheney commented, "It seems, at times, as though your administration’s approach has more in common with Obama’s foreign policy than traditional Republican foreign policy."[187]
On September 6, 2024, Cheney released a public statement confirming that he intends to cast his vote in the2024 presidential election for Democratic nomineeKamala Harris. The previous day, his daughter Liz had told a crowd of Cheney's intention to do so.[192] In his statement, Cheney opined,
In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again. As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.[192]
Cheney's early public opinion polls were more favorable than unfavorable, reaching his peak approval rating in the wake of theSeptember 11 attacks at 68 percent.[15] However, polling numbers for both him and the president gradually declined in their second terms,[15][195] with Cheney reaching his lowest point shortly before leaving office at 13 percent.[195][196] Cheney'sGallup poll figures are mostly consistent with those from other polls:[15][197]
April 2001 – 63% approval, 21% disapproval
January 2002 – 68% approval, 18% disapproval
January 2004 – 56% approval, 36% disapproval
January 2005 – 50% approval, 40% disapproval
January 2006 – 41% approval, 46% disapproval
July 2007 – 30% approval, 60% disapproval
March 2009 – 30% approval, 63% disapproval
In April 2007, Cheney was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service byBrigham Young University, where he delivered the commencement address.[198] His selection as commencement speaker was controversial. The college board of trustees issued a statement explaining that the invitation should be viewed "as one extended to someone holding the high office of vice president of the United States rather than to a partisan political figure".[199] BYU permitted a protest to occur so long as it did not "make personal attacks against Cheney, attack (the) BYU administration, thechurch or theFirst Presidency".[200]
Cheney has been cited as the most powerful vice president in American history.[4][5] He has been compared toDarth Vader, a characterization originated by his critics, but which was later adopted humorously by Cheney himself as well as by members of his family and staff.[201]
InJon Meacham's bookDestiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, published in November 2015, the 41st president, although also laudatory of Cheney, is in part critical of the former vice president, whom Bush describes as "having his own empire" and "very hard-line."[206]
InEminem's 2002 single "Without Me", where the lines "I know that you got a job, Ms. Cheney / But your husband's heart problem's complicated" refer to hishealth problems.
Bob Rivers did a parody cover called "Cheney's Got a Gun"[211]
In an episode entitled "Dick Cheney" during the first-season run of thedramedyPatriot aired onAmazon Prime, protagonist John Lakeman shoots his rival with a shotgun while the two were conducting a duck hunt, referencing events surrounding theDick Cheney hunting accident.
Personal life
Cheney is a member of theUnited Methodist Church[212] and was the first Methodist vice president to serve under a Methodist president.[213]
On September 24, 2005, Cheney underwent a six-hour endo-vascular procedure to repairpopliteal arteryaneurysms bilaterally, acatheter treatment technique used in the artery behind each knee.[222] The condition was discovered at a regular physical in July, and was not life-threatening.[223] Cheney was hospitalized for tests after experiencing shortness of breath five months later. In late April 2006, anultrasound revealed that the clot was smaller.[222]
On March 5, 2007, Cheney was treated fordeep-vein thrombosis in his left leg atGeorge Washington University Hospital after experiencing pain in his left calf. Doctors prescribed blood-thinning medication and allowed him to return to work.[224] CBS News reported that during the morning of November 26, 2007, Cheney was diagnosed withatrial fibrillation and underwent treatment that afternoon.[222]
On July 12, 2008, Cheney underwent acardiological exam; doctors reported that his heartbeat was normal for a 67-year-old man with a history of heart problems. As part of his annual checkup, he was administered anelectrocardiogram andradiological imaging of the stents placed in the arteries behind his knees in 2005. Doctors said that Cheney had not experienced any recurrence of atrial fibrillation and that his special pacemaker had neither detected nor treated anyarrhythmia.[225] On October 15, 2008, Cheney returned to the hospital briefly to treat a minor irregularity.[226]
On February 22, 2010, Cheney was admitted toGeorge Washington University Hospital after experiencing chest pains. A spokesperson later said Cheney had experienced a mild heart attack after doctors had run tests.[221] On June 25, 2010, Cheney was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after reporting discomfort.[229]
On March 24, 2012, Cheney underwent a seven-hourheart transplant procedure atInova Fairfax Hospital inWoodburn, Virginia. He had been on a waiting list for more than 20 months before receiving the heart from an anonymous donor.[237][238] Cheney's principal cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner, advised his patient that "it would not be unreasonable for an otherwise healthy 71-year-old man to expect to live another 10 years" with a transplant, saying in a family-authorized interview that he considered Cheney to be otherwise healthy.[239]
On February 11, 2006, Cheney accidentally shotHarry Whittington, a then-78-year-oldTexas attorney, while participating in aquail hunt at Armstrong ranch inKenedy County, Texas.[240]Secret Service agents and medical aides, who were traveling with Cheney, came to Whittington's assistance and treated his birdshot wounds to his right cheek, neck, and chest. An ambulance standing by for the Vice President took Whittington to nearbyKingsville before he was flown by helicopter toCorpus Christi Memorial Hospital. On February 14, 2006, Whittington had a non-fatalheart attack andatrial fibrillation due to at least one lead-shot pellet lodged in or near his heart.[241] Because of the small size of thebirdshot pellets, doctors decided to leave up to 30 pieces of the pellets lodged in his body rather than try to remove them.
The Secret Service stated that they notified the sheriff about one hour after the shooting. Kenedy County Sheriff Ramone Salinas III stated that he first heard of the shooting at about 5:30 pm.[242] The next day, ranch owner Katharine Armstrong informed theCorpus Christi Caller-Times of the shooting.[243] Cheney had a televised interview withMSNBC News about the shooting on February 15. Both Cheney and Whittington have called the incident an accident. Early reports indicated that Cheney and Whittington were friends and that the injuries were minor. Whittington has since toldThe Washington Post that he and Cheney were not close friends but acquaintances. When asked if Cheney had apologized, Whittington declined to answer.[244]
The sheriff's office released a report on the shooting on February 16, 2006, and witness statements on February 22, indicating that the shooting occurred on a clear sunny day, and Whittington was shot from 30 or 40 yards (30 or 40 m) away while searching for a downed bird. Armstrong, the ranch owner, claimed that all in the hunting party were wearing blaze-orange safety gear and none had been drinking.[245] However, Cheney has acknowledged that he had one beer four or five hours prior to the shooting.[246] Although Kenedy County Sheriff's Office documents support the official story by Cheney and his party, re-creations of the incident produced by George Gongora and John Metz of theCorpus Christi Caller-Times indicated that the actual shooting distance was closer than the 30 yards claimed.[247]
The incident hurt Cheney's popularity standing in the polls.[248] According to polls on February 27, 2006, two weeks after the accident, Dick Cheney's approval rating had dropped 5 percentage points to 18%.[249] The incident became the subject of a number of jokes and satire.[250]
Cheney, Richard B.;Cheney, Lynne V. (1983).Kings of the Hill: Power and Personality in the House of Representatives. New York: Continuum.ISBN0-8264-0230-5.
Cheney, Dick (1997).Professional Military Education: An Asset for Peace and Progress. Directed and edited by Bill Taylor. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic & International Studies.ISBN0-89206-297-5.OCLC36929146.
^In his early life the vice president himself pronounced hisfamily name as/ˈtʃiːni/CHEE-nee, the pronunciation used by his family. After moving east he adopted the pronunciation/ˈtʃeɪni/CHAY-nee favored by the media and public-at-large.[1][2][3]
^abcdeMcCollough, Lindsay G. (Producer); Gellman, Barton (Narrator).The Life and Career of Dick Cheney.The Washington Post (Narrated slideshow). RetrievedDecember 18, 2007.
^Lowell Bergman; Marlena Telvick (February 13, 2007)."Dick Cheney's Memos from 30 Years Ago".Frontline: News War. Public Broadcasting System.Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 13, 2008.
^Walsh, Kenneth T. (October 5, 2003)."The Man Behind the Curtain".U.S. News & World Report.Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. RetrievedJanuary 11, 2009.
^Froomkin, Dan (August 22, 2006)."Inside the Real West Wing".The Washington Post.Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2008.
^Brazelon, Emily (November 18, 2007)."All the President's Powers".The New York Times.Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. RetrievedNovember 18, 2007.
^Gorman, Siobhan (July 13, 2009)."CIA Had Secret Al Qaeda Plan".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. RetrievedAugust 6, 2009.
Goldstein, Joel K. "The contemporary presidency: Cheney, vice presidential power, and the war on terror."Presidential Studies Quarterly 40.1 (2010): 102–139.online
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