Trump and Vance excluded from Dick Cheney’s funeral while Biden is set to attend
WASHINGTON, DC: Washington’s power players are suiting up on Thursday, November 20, for the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
However, according to a source familiar with the arrangements, neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance was included on the invite list.
Cheney’s service isn’t just any farewell. More than 1,000 guests will pack into Washington National Cathedral for the closed-door service.
Joe Biden, George W Bush, Mike Pence, and Kamala Harris to attend
All four living former vice presidents and two former presidents are expected to attend the service.
That means George W Bush and Joe Biden will both be in attendance, and so will past vice presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle.
The judiciary’s also making an appearance, including Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan.
Past and present Cabinet officials from both parties are on deck, plus congressional brass from both sides of the aisle. Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and his predecessor Mitch McConnell will all be there.
Cheney's controversial legacy
The service kicks off at 11 a.m. ET, with Bush himself delivering a tribute. The cathedral program also lists Cheney’s daughter, former congresswoman Liz Cheney, along with his grandchildren, as speakers.
Cheney’s résumé includes defense secretary, White House chief of staff, Wyoming congressman, and most notably Vice President from 2001 to 2009. He died on November 3 at the age of 84.
Cheney was considered one of the most influential veeps in U.S. history, especially when it came to American foreign policy. But he walked out of the office mired in controversy as the architect of the Iraq War.
While it’s typical for the sitting White House to get invites to these major funerals, the Trump and Vance snub isn’t exactly shocking. Cheney initially supported Trump’s 2016 run, but spent his final years blasting him, especially after his daughter Liz Cheney clashed with the latter over the January 6, 2021 investigation.
Back in 2022, he called Trump a “coward” and declared no one was a “greater threat to our republic.”
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” the former vice president said at the time. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him," he said of the 2020 election.
“He is a coward. A real man wouldn’t lie to his supporters. He lost his election and he lost big. I know it, he knows it and, deep down, I think most Republicans know it,” Cheney added.
White House keeps things low-key
Having said that, Trump has kept things silent. He has made no public condolences or comments about Cheney's passing.
The White House’s reaction was equally low-key, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that Trump was “aware” of Cheney’s death and noting that the flags had been lowered to half-staff.
Cheney’s funeral will also feature a lineup of honorary pallbearers, including members of his Secret Service detail, former chiefs of staff David Addington and Scooter Libby, plus photographer David Hume Kennerly.
CNN reported that a quote from naturalist John Muir appears near the end of the service leaflet, “The mountains are calling and I must go.”
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