VP Under Bush and Former Dallas Resident Dick Cheney, Dead at 84.

Dick Cheney, the former Vice President to President George W. Bush, who many believe became the most powerful VP in history, died Monday at the age of 84, according to a Tuesday statement from his family. 

“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,” his family said. “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.”

The family statement listed complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease as the cause of death.  

As Cheney ascended to power throughout the 1990s and into the current millennium, he became a highly polarizing figure. After serving in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1980s, Cheney was tapped by President George H. W. Bush in 1989 to become his Secretary of Defense, where he oversaw Operation Desert Storm. After years in the private sector, he was chosen as George W. Bush’s running mate, where he served from 2000-2008, helping steer the government’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and guiding the Iraq War. 

Although he was born in Nebraska, attended high school in Wyoming and attended Yale University, Cheney eventually formed many connections to North Texas as his career and influence progressed. Between his time as defense secretary and vice president, he worked as CEO and Chairman of Halliburton, a multinational oil corporation headquartered in Dallas. 

Cheney lived in Dallas during his time with Halliburton, residing in Highland Park. When he was picked as Bush’s running mate, he had to change his voter registration from Texas to Wyoming to comply with a constitutional requirement that presidential ticket running mates not be registered to vote in the same state. After Cheney later helped lead the invasion into Iraq as VP, his connection to Halliburton would come under fire as the company was granted lucrative, no-bid contracts that critics cited as conflicts of interest. 

Following 9/11, Cheney, along with Bush, enjoyed high approval ratings, but those dropped dramatically during the pair’s second term as his role in guiding the Iraq War came under increased scrutiny. Between 2004 and 2008 Senate intelligence reports called many of Cheney’s assertions and statements regarding Iraq’s role in the 9/11 attacks and its collection of weapons of mass destruction “overstated” and not supported by underlying intelligence.”

Cheney continued to defend his decisions regarding the Iraq invasion during his time in office and for years after, repeatedly claiming he acted on the best intelligence that was available to him at the time of the decisions. 

More recently, Cheney found himself back in the national spotlight along with his daughter, former U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, when in 2024, they each endorsed Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, rather than Republican Donald Trump. 

During a 2015 ceremony honoring Cheney in Washington, D.C., George W. Bush paid tribute to his former running mate, underscoring the notion that Cheney was one of the most powerful figures of American politics. 

“For eight years, Dick stood by my side and always did what was right for our nation,” he said, according to the New York TImes. “I could not have asked for a better vice president than Dick Cheney. He’s a good man who loves his country and really loves his family.”