Dick Cheney, influential vice president under George W. Bush, dies at 84

Dick Cheney, a towering figure in American politics who served as vice president under George W. Bush and played a central role in reshaping US foreign and domestic policy in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, has died. He was 84.

Cheney died Monday night due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a statement from his family obtained by the Associated Press.

Cheney served father and son presidents, leading the armed forces as defense chief during the Persian Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush before returning to serve as vice president under Bush's son, George W. Bush.

RELATED: Dick Cheney will vote for Kamala Harris: ‘Country above partisanship’

Cheney family statement

Dig deeper:

"For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States," the statement said. ""Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man."

Former President George W. Bush reacts to Cheney's death

What they're saying:

In a statement from former President George W. Bush, obtained by Reuters, Bush said: "The death of Richard B. Cheney is a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends. Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was. History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation – a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held," Reuters reported. 

What was Cheney's legacy?

Big picture view:

Dick Cheney’s legacy is inseparable from the Bush administration’s post-9/11 response. He was a key advocate for preemptive war in Iraq, arguing Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction — a claim later disproven. He also strongly supported controversial measures like enhanced interrogation, surveillance expansion, and indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay.

RELATED: Biden gives 2nd-highest civilian award to Liz Cheney, Jan. 6 congressional panel leaders

To his critics, Cheney embodied the overreach of post-9/11 American power. To his supporters, he was a steady and strategic leader during a time of profound national crisis.

Cheney claimed there was a link between the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States and prewar Iraq that didn't exist. Cheney said U.S. troops would be welcomed as liberators; they weren't.

The Associated Press noted that Cheney also declared the Iraqi insurgency in its last throes in May 2005, back when 1,661 U.S. service members had been killed.

Who was Dick Cheney?

The backstory:

Dick Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and later enrolled at the University of Wyoming. He served as White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford, was elected to Congress from Wyoming, and later served as secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush during the Gulf War.

After a stint as CEO of oil services giant Halliburton in the 1990s, Cheney returned to politics in 2000 as George W. Bush’s running mate. Though vice presidents often play supporting roles, Cheney became arguably the most influential vice president in US history — pushing policy from behind closed doors on everything from surveillance programs to war strategy.

Cheney later became a target of President Donald Trump after daughter Liz Cheney became the leading Republican critic and examiner of Trump's attempts to stay in power after his election defeat and his actions in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Cheney came to his daughter's defense in 2022 as Liz managed her lead role on the committee investigating Jan. 6 while trying to get reelected to office in Wyoming.

The former vice president is survived by his wife Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and grandchildren. He leaves behind a legacy that reshaped US foreign policy, expanded the power of the executive branch, and remains deeply debated to this day.